Sabres sign college star to $1 million contract

The Buffalo Sabres have officially added a talented player to their organization.

On Tuesday, they signed defenseman Gavin McCarthy to a three-year contract.

The deal will be worth just more than $1 million cap hit per season, according to Daily Faceoff.

The entry-level contract doesn't specify whether McCarthy will report to the Sabres in the NHL or the Rochester Americans in the AHL, but that will likely be announced soon.

McCarthy was a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, with the Sabres choosing him No. 86 overall.

He had played in the USHL up to that point, and for the past three seasons has played at the NCAA level for Boston University.

This year, he had four goals and 17 assists for BU, giving him 21 points in 36 games, which was a career-best for McCarthy.

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With college seasons ending, a number of NCAA players who have concluded their collegiate careers are now signing with NHL teams that already held their rights.

Buffalo gets to do so with McCarthy, who will have a few years of this entry-level contract to prove where he belongs.

If this was yet another rebuilding season for the Sabres, maybe McCarthy would come straight to the NHL.

Given Buffalo's spot in the standings and bulked-up defense group that was bolstered at the trade deadline, it seems more likely that McCarthy will head to the Amerks now and try to prove he belongs at the AHL level first.

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