After moving Sam Lafferty, a free signing last year, to the Chicago Blackhawks for a sixth-round pick in 2026. The Sabres filled that void in the roster by signing Justin Danforth to a two-year deal with a $1.8 million cap hit.

He comes over from playing in the Columbus Blue Jackets organization for the last four years. Current Sabres senior advisor, Jarmo Kekalainen was the one who brought him into that organization. He did play for the Amerks from 2016 to 2018 before going over to Europe for a few years.

The 32-year-old is undersized at 5’9″, but he’s aggressive on the forecheck. He’ll also bring a speed element to the bottom of the Sabres’ lineup. There’s no special microstat juice here or overly impressive underlying numbers.

He scored nine goals and 21 points in 61 games with the Blue Jackets last season. I’m comfortable saying that this player is an improvement on Lafferty. However, he’s a rotational 12th or 13th forward in the lineup that’ll have minimal impact. There’s no special teams help here either.

Data via: Hockeyviz

Photo Credit: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports