- May 21, 2026
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The Buffalo Sabres are adding a potentially ascending forward to their organization.
On Thursday, the Sabres signed winger Aidan McDonough to a one-year, two-way contract.
The deal will carry a cap hit of $850,000 at the NHL level.
McDonough, 26, is coming off the best year of his professional career, having notched 23 goals and 21 assists for 44 points in 65 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last season.
The Milton, Massachusetts native was selected from the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the United States Hockey League (USHL) in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. He then went on to have a four-year collegiate career at Northeastern University in Boston, where he served as an alternate captain in his junior season and as the captain in his senior season. McDonough was a point-per-game scorer in college, having compiled 66 goals and 58 assists for 124 points over 124 total games with Northeastern.
Following his senior season with Northeastern, McDonough joined the Canucks at the tail end of the 2022-23 season, where he had a goal in six games.
McDonough’s first full-time season as a professional came in 2023-24, when he played 58 games for Vancouver’s AHL affiliate Abbotsford Canucks and registered 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points.
He then signed an AHL deal with the Charlotte Checkers, the affiliate of the Florida Panthers, ahead of the 2024-25 season. That year, he played just 16 games due to injuries, but put up 10 goals and six assists for 16 points.
McDonough signed a one-year AHL deal with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in July of 2025.
At 6’2″ and 201 pounds, McDonough has good size coupled with quality hockey sense, despite not being the strongest skater.
Follow along with Daily Faceoff’s live free agency tracker here.
Continue reading...
On Thursday, the Sabres signed winger Aidan McDonough to a one-year, two-way contract.
The deal will carry a cap hit of $850,000 at the NHL level.
McDonough, 26, is coming off the best year of his professional career, having notched 23 goals and 21 assists for 44 points in 65 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last season.
The Milton, Massachusetts native was selected from the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the United States Hockey League (USHL) in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. He then went on to have a four-year collegiate career at Northeastern University in Boston, where he served as an alternate captain in his junior season and as the captain in his senior season. McDonough was a point-per-game scorer in college, having compiled 66 goals and 58 assists for 124 points over 124 total games with Northeastern.
Following his senior season with Northeastern, McDonough joined the Canucks at the tail end of the 2022-23 season, where he had a goal in six games.
McDonough’s first full-time season as a professional came in 2023-24, when he played 58 games for Vancouver’s AHL affiliate Abbotsford Canucks and registered 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points.
He then signed an AHL deal with the Charlotte Checkers, the affiliate of the Florida Panthers, ahead of the 2024-25 season. That year, he played just 16 games due to injuries, but put up 10 goals and six assists for 16 points.
McDonough signed a one-year AHL deal with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in July of 2025.
At 6’2″ and 201 pounds, McDonough has good size coupled with quality hockey sense, despite not being the strongest skater.
Follow along with Daily Faceoff’s live free agency tracker here.
Continue reading...