The Buffalo Sabres announced Monday that they signed Nicolas Aube-Kubel to a one-year, $1.5 million contract, officially ending the forward’s tenure in Washington.
In 60 games with the Capitals last season, Aube-Kubel recorded 16 points (6g, 10a).
We have signed Nicolas Aube-Kubel to a one-year contract worth $1.5 million.
Welcome to Buffalo!
→ https://t.co/ERSMH1uF3U pic.twitter.com/nr7kwGRuxF
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) July 1, 2024
Aube-Kubel, 28, was one of two Capitals players set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer (alongside Max Pacioretty). General manager Brian MacLellan told reporters last week that both players would be “unlikely” to return to DC.
After the Caps waived him during the preseason, Aube-Kubel spent the first month of the 2023-24 campaign with the Hershey Bears before re-joining the big club in November. He served primarily on the Capitals’ fourth line, forming a strong defensive trio with Nic Dowd and Beck Malenstyn.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel, signed 1x$1.5M by BUF, is a speedy physical defensive fourth line winger. #LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/p8sJV8yHgM
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 1, 2024
With Malenstyn also headed to Buffalo after the Capitals dealt him at the draft, the Sabres now have two-thirds of Washington’s primary fourth line from last year. The pair played 545:54 together at five-on-five, outscoring their opponents 21-16 despite taking 91.1% of their faceoffs in the defensive zone.
The Sabres will become Aube-Kubel’s fifth team in four years, following stints with the Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Capitals. Washington picked him up off the waiver wire from Toronto ahead of the 2022-23 season before signing him to a one-year, $1.225 extension that spring.
Aube-Kubel won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022 and notably dented the trophy just minutes after it was presented to the team.
