The Buffalo Sabres locked in Noah Ostlund for the long haul Monday morning, agreeing to an eight-year contract extension with the forward. According to the club’s media release, the deal carries an average annual value of $6.6 million.
Ostlund, 22, became a regular part of Buffalo’s lineup in 2025-26 and delivered 11 goals and 27 points over 60 games. The 5’11”, left-shot center also chipped in a goal and an assist across three playoff appearances.
Buffalo picked Ostlund in the first round, No. 16 overall, in the 2022 NHL Draft. He still has one season left on his entry-level contract, which carries an $886,666 cap hit, before the new extension begins in the 2027-28 season.
The timing of the deal could make it the last eight-year contract handed out before the updated Collective Bargaining Agreement arrives on Wednesday. Under the new CBA, all new contracts will be limited to seven years.
Ostlund’s path to this point started in Sweden with the Djurgardens system before he came to North America in 2024. In 2024-25, he played his first eight NHL games for the Sabres and didn’t record a point, while also putting up 19 goals and 36 points in 45 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans.
He spent only seven games with Rochester in 2025-26, scoring three goals and 10 points before becoming a full-time contributor in Buffalo. With the extension now in place, he’ll stay part of a young Sabres core in 2026-27 and beyond alongside Konsta Helenius and Jiri Kulich.
In Other News...
Sabres Just Made A Long-Term Bet On A Young Forward
The Sabres have decided they are not waiting to see whether Alexander Ostlund becomes a bigger part of their present before locking him into their future. Buffalo signed the young forward to a long-term deal that reflects the organizations belief that his value goes beyond the role he has filled so far, with Ostlund spending much of his NHL time in a bottom-six spot while also bouncing between Buffalo and Rochester.
Ostlund, the 16th overall pick in 2022, is now part of a broader roster plan that keeps several core pieces under team control through at least 2029-30. The length of the commitment says plenty about how the Sabres view his trajectory, and so does the structure of the deal, which gives him protections later on as Buffalo tries to build a more stable lineup around its young group. [Read more 🡒]
Jiri Kulich Now Faces A Huge Sabres Question At Center
Jiri Kulich has been back on the ice, and for the Sabres that alone is an encouraging development after a long stretch without him in an NHL game. The young forward has been skating and training again, and the early word around him has been positive from both Radim Mrtka and head coach Lindy Ruff, which gives Buffalo a little more reason to keep an eye on him heading into camp.
The bigger issue now is where Kulich fits in a roster that still needs answers down the middle. Buffalos struggles at the faceoff dot last season made center a glaring area of concern, and Kulich is expected to get a real look for a top-line job when training camp opens. He will have to show he can handle that responsibility quickly, because the Sabres need more than just health here - they need a center who can help stabilize a key weakness. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Just Made Their Belief In Noah Ostlund Impossible To Miss
Noah Ostlunds rise from a 2022 first-round pick to a player Buffalo wants locked into its future has been quick and unmistakable. After two seasons in Sweden, the forward came over to Rochester and then made enough of an impression in his rookie NHL season that the Sabres moved to secure him as part of their long-term plans.
The extension gives Buffalo another young piece to build around, and it also keeps Ostlund in the same conversation as the clubs other core names already under contract deep into the decade. For a team trying to stabilize its direction, the message here is clear: the Sabres are betting big that Ostlunds early promise is only the start. [Read more 🡒]