Buffalo Sabres sign Connor Clifton to three-year contract

The Buffalo Sabres have added some solid defensive depth, signing Connor Clifton to a three-year deal worth $3.3 million per season.

Clifton, 28, has played his entire career with the Boston Bruins. He had five goals and 23 points in 78 games this year, his best NHL season to date. Over six seasons, Clifton has 43 points and 157 penalty minutes in 232 games over six seasons.

A fifth-round pick by Arizona in 2013, Clifton is a product from the United States National Development Team. He won silver at the 2013 U-18s before going on a four-year run with Quinnipiac University. The hard-nosed defender had 56 points in 156 games, with the highlight of his career being his ECAC tournament MVP Title after helping Quinnipiac win the title.

The Sabres have nine defensemen signed next year, including Owen Power, Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson and recently signed Erik Johnson. Ilya Lybushkin, Henri Jokiharju, Jacob Bryson and Riley Stillman signed to deals, as well as Ryan Johnson, Nikita Novrikov, Vsevold Komarov, Joseph Cecconi and Jeremy Davies inked in the minors.

Buffalo has $5.876 million in cap space remaining with a nearly completed roster at this point.