Beck Malenstyn signed a two-year, $2.7 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. It has an average annual value of $1.35 million.
The 26-year-old forward, who was a restricted free agent, had filed for salary arbitration July 5.
Malenstyn, who was traded to the Sabres from the Washington Capitals on June 29 for a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, had an NHL career-high 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) in 81 regular-season games for the Capitals last season.
Malenstyn led Washington with 241 hits and was first among its forwards with 93 blocked shots.
"This guy is a player who's direct, hard, finishes checks -- and not just finishes checks, but finishes checks hard," general manager Kevyn Adams told the Sabres website in June. "There was a real need for that."
Selected by the Capitals in the fifth round (No. 145) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Malenstyn has 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) in 105 regular-season games and no points in four Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel, who signed a one-year contract with the Sabres on July 1, was teammates with Malenstyn on the Capitals last season.
"It was a joy playing with him the whole year," Aube-Kubel told the Sabres website. "He's a really hard player to play against. That's something I learned when I played against him in the American League. Also, while playing with him, it's not just how many shots he blocks, (it's) how many little details. He plays safe, he plays the right way. So, it was a pleasure to play with him this year."
Malenstyn is one of two Sabres players who had an arbitration hearing schedule, along with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
The 25-year-old goalie was 27-22-4 with a 2.57 goals-against average, .910 save percentage and five shutouts in 54 games (51 starts) last season.
