Buffalo Sabres avoid arbitration by re-signing defenceman Sekera to deal

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Buffalo Sabres avoided going to arbitration by re-signing defenceman Andrej Sekera to a multi-year contract.

The team also announced Tuesday it re-signed forward Matt Ellis to a multi-year contract.

Sekera is an offensive-minded player who is expected to have received a raise over the US$1.25 million he made last year. He has four-plus years of NHL experience and had a career-best 29 points (three goals, 26 assists) in 76 games last season.

The Sabres had retained Sekera's rights by tendering him a contract two weeks ago. He was scheduled to have an arbitration hearing next week.

Ellis was an unrestricted free agent, who has spent parts of the past three seasons with the Sabres. He had no points in 14 games with Buffalo last year.