BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Defenseman Dmitri Kalinin re-signed with
the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, exercising his one-year contract
option.
Kalinin, among the Sabres' top two blue-liners, will make $1.33
million next season.
Buffalo's first-round draft pick in the 1998 draft, Kalinin is a
five-year veteran who led Sabres defensemen with 10 goals, 24
assists and 34 points -- all career highs -- in 77 games during the
2003-04 season.
The Sabres also re-signed defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick by
exercising their team option to pick up the final year of his
contract, worth $532,000.
A nine-year NHL veteran, Fitzpatrick is a journeyman player who
has spent the previous three seasons with Buffalo.
He had four goals, seven assists and 11 points in a career-high
60 games with the Sabres in 2003-04.