The Buffalo Sabres are closing in on a seven-year contract extension for Josh Doan that is worth $6.95 million per season, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
The deal includes $7 million in signing bonuses over the first two seasons, sources told ESPN, and it also includes a seven-team no-trade clause when Doan is eligible.
Doan, 23, was set to be a restricted free agent this summer. He joined the Sabres last season along with defenseman Michael Kesselring in a blockbuster trade that sent JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth.
Doan is third on the Sabres with 15 goals and 20 assists through 49 games this season.
His extension is the first major piece of business for general manager Jarmo Kekkalainen, who replaced Kevyn Adams in December. The Sabres have seriously turned around their season, going an NHL-best 16-3-1 since Dec. 9 to put themselves in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff chase.
The Sabres have the NHL's longest playoff drought at 14 consecutive seasons.
Doan, who was the No. 37 pick of the 2021 NHL draft by the Arizona Coyotes, has 27 goals and 63 points in 111 career games. He is the son of Coyotes legend Shane Doan, who is currently an executive with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
