Sabres sign 6-foot-2 power forward who has traveled journeyman path

The Buffalo Sabres have been quite tame in their early free agent pursuits.

They did make one intriguing signing, at least if you squint a bit: Aidan McDonough.

McDonough was signed this week on a two-way contract:

McDonough brings a lot of experience grinding his way up through the hockey ranks.

He's from Milton, Massachusetts, and he played in the USHL for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders before the Vancouver Canucks took him in the seventh round in 2019.

McDonough then played collegiately at Northeastern University, where he scored 124 points in 124 games.

He did play six games for the Canucks in 2023, with a goal, and then spent 58 games with AHL Abbotsford the following season.

He got 16 games with Florida's AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, in 2024-25.

In 2025-26, he had his best professional season -- 44 points (23 goals and 21 assists) in 65 games for AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, as part of the Penguins' organization.

McDonough may end up mostly with the AHL's Rochester Americans, but he has kept improving his game, giving the 6-foot-2 forward a chance at eventually getting back to the NHL.