BUFFALO – Having shown few signs of graying at 33, an advanced age in the NHL, Sabres winger Jason Zucker would’ve had plenty of suitors on the open market.
Still, the veteran chose to eschew free agency and sign a two-year, $9.5 million contract extension with the last-place Sabres hours before Friday’s trade deadline Why?
Well, for starters, Zucker has enjoyed what he called the “fun challenge” of being the team’s oldest and most experienced player.
Despite their sorry standing, he said the Sabres, who lost every game as he recovered from a lower-body injury (0-5-1), have made progress.
“I believe in the group,” said Zucker, who played in Monday’s 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers at KeyBank Center. “… To me, it’s a little bit of like an unfinished business thing, too.”
What gives Zucker hope? At times throughout a trying season, he said the Sabres have compiled some strong stretches and “shown the talent that we have.”
“I think we’ve shown the that we can play when we have a willingness to play the right way and do it for a full 60,” he said Monday morning. “I mean, that’s been our biggest Achilles heel all year, is doing it for a full 60 minutes.”
The Sabres have blown multi-goal leads seven times and lost this season.
“You go back and look … the amount of games that we’ve given away with leads or in good positions is astronomical,” he said.
Still, Zucker knows the grass might not be greener somewhere else. The Sabres have utilized him on the first or second line and the top power-play unit all season. He had rewarded them by scoring 18 goals and 44 points in 54 games entering Monday’s contest.
As the deadline approached, the American, who played for three teams in two seasons before signing a one-year, $5 million deal with the Sabres on July 1, knew he would be dealing with trade speculation.
“I knew my focus was always trying to get something done to stay here,” he said. “I was just glad that we were able to get it done.”
Naturally, Zucker said he was pushing for a two-year contract from the get-go.
“I told Kevyn (Adams) right away that, for me, wanting to be here was not just on a one-year basis,” he said. “And, honestly, we talked about that a bit this past summer, when I first signed here. But it’s always a little different when you get into the situation and you’re more involved in it.”
In other news, Sabres forward Jordan Greenway played after missing Saturday’s 4-0 road loss to the Florida Panthers game with the flu. He skated at center instead of as a winger. Meanwhile, center Jiri Kulich missed his second straight game because of illness. He did, however, participate in the morning skate.
Center Josh Norris, who was acquired in Friday’s trade that sent center
Dylan Cozens to the Ottawa Senators, made his home debut.
The Sabres also scratched forwards Josh Dunne and Isak Rosen, both of whom played Saturday after being recalled from the Rochester Americans.
Coach Lindy Ruff said defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, another piece of the Cozens trade with Ottawa, is still going through immigration.
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Oilers winger Jeff Skinner played Monday after sitting out three games as a healthy scratch, his first appearance in Buffalo since the Sabres bought out the final three seasons of his eight-year, $72 million contract in June.
He has struggled with the Oilers, scoring 11 goals and getting scratched 10 times this season after signing a one-year $3 million deal. The Sabres must pay him two-thirds of his remaining salary over the next six years.
Skinner, 32, sensed the Sabres could make a move after struggling last season.
“I think as you get older, you’ve been around the league a lot more, you get a feel for things and how things may turn out,” he said. “I think then at that point you just kind of look forward and look toward the next opportunity. I have a lot of good memories of great friendships I made here, so nothing but good memories.”
After Sabres welcomed him back with a tribute video, a smiling Skinner waved to the crowd as he received a warm ovation.