- May 21, 2026
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The Buffalo Sabres have signed defenseman Zach Metsa to a one-year contract extension worth $900,000, the club announced Friday afternoon.
Metsa, 27, appeared in 43 games with the Sabres during the 2025-26 regular season, collecting two goals and six points, along with a plus-16 rating, while averaging 10:58 of ice time. The 5’9″ right-handed defender subsequently appeared in two playoff games with the club, collecting his first career postseason goal and playing 7:52 per night.
An undrafted player, Metsa has spent his entire professional career to date in the Sabres organization. He signed his first NHL contract with the club in 2025 and will earn $850,000 in the NHL in 2026-27, the final year of his current two-way deal, before his new one-year, one-way extension takes effect in 2027-28.
A product of Delafield, Wisc., Metsa played junior hockey with four different USHL teams, as well as the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials, before beginning his collegiate career at Quinnipiac University in 2018.
Over his five seasons with the Bobcats, Metsa developed from a marginal contributor as a freshman to become one of the top point-producing defenders in the nation. As a fifth-year player, he captained Quinnipiac to its first and only National Championship win in 2023, also being named a Second Team Eastern All-American and to the NCAA’s All-Tournament Team.
Metsa signed with the AHL’s Rochester Americans as a free agent in 2023 and joined the team in time for the Calder Cup Playoffs, collecting one goal and three points in 13 postseason contests. He spent the entirety of the following two seasons with Rochester before splitting time between the Americans and Sabres in 2025-26.
In 142 career AHL regular-season games, Metsa has collected 16 goals and 85 points; he’s added seven points (one goal, six assists) in 26 career Calder Cup Playoff contests.
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Metsa, 27, appeared in 43 games with the Sabres during the 2025-26 regular season, collecting two goals and six points, along with a plus-16 rating, while averaging 10:58 of ice time. The 5’9″ right-handed defender subsequently appeared in two playoff games with the club, collecting his first career postseason goal and playing 7:52 per night.
An undrafted player, Metsa has spent his entire professional career to date in the Sabres organization. He signed his first NHL contract with the club in 2025 and will earn $850,000 in the NHL in 2026-27, the final year of his current two-way deal, before his new one-year, one-way extension takes effect in 2027-28.
Another year of Mets!
We have signed Zach Metsa to a one-year contract extension with an AAV of $900,000.
Details → https://t.co/J4HzCcu6Bu pic.twitter.com/mDNC7aTPQc
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) September 4, 2026
A product of Delafield, Wisc., Metsa played junior hockey with four different USHL teams, as well as the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials, before beginning his collegiate career at Quinnipiac University in 2018.
Over his five seasons with the Bobcats, Metsa developed from a marginal contributor as a freshman to become one of the top point-producing defenders in the nation. As a fifth-year player, he captained Quinnipiac to its first and only National Championship win in 2023, also being named a Second Team Eastern All-American and to the NCAA’s All-Tournament Team.
Metsa signed with the AHL’s Rochester Americans as a free agent in 2023 and joined the team in time for the Calder Cup Playoffs, collecting one goal and three points in 13 postseason contests. He spent the entirety of the following two seasons with Rochester before splitting time between the Americans and Sabres in 2025-26.
In 142 career AHL regular-season games, Metsa has collected 16 goals and 85 points; he’s added seven points (one goal, six assists) in 26 career Calder Cup Playoff contests.
Continue reading...