
Sabres sign Conor Timmins to two-year deal, avoid salary arbitration
The Buffalo Sabres and defenseman Conor Timmins agreed to a two-year contract and avoid salary arbitration.
The Buffalo Sabres have locked in another defenseman, and avoided an arbitration hearing in the process.
The Sabres announced Sunday they have agreed to a two-year contract with Conor Timmins, whom they acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins during the NHL draft in June.
Timmins was a restricted free agent, and his two-year deal has an average annual value of $2.2 million, which puts the Sabres’ cap space for 2025-26 at around $5.19 million, according to Puckpedia.com. AFP Analytics projected Timmins’ next contract to have a cap hit of $2.67 million.
Timmins, who is from St. Catharines, Ontario, also got a raise. His last contract was a two-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $1.1 million.
Timmins, 26, is a right-handed defenseman who is likely to play on the Sabres’ third pairing with Mattias Samuelsson. Timmins scored three goals with 12 assists in 68 games last season with Toronto and Pittsburgh, blocked 90 shots and averaged just under 17 minutes of ice time per game.
Timmins enters his seventh NHL season and has six goals with 40 assists in 159 NHL games. The Sabres traded the No. 39 pick in this year’s draft and defenseman Connor Clifton to the Penguins for Timmins and defenseman Isaac Belliveau.
Timmins was one of 11 NHL players who filed for salary arbitration, and his hearing date was originally scheduled for Saturday. Of the players who filed for arbitration earlier this month, Timmins is one of eight who have negotiated new contracts and signed with teams.
The contract agreement with Timmins means the Sabres have one player who remains a restricted free agent: Devon Levi, a goalie who spent much of last season in Rochester of the American Hockey League. While AFP projects Levi’s cap hit at $874,000, it would not apply to the Sabres’ salary cap if he spent this season with the Amerks.