Defenseman Dennis Gilbert, one of the newest members of the Buffalo Sabres, says that coming back home to play for legendary Sabres coach Lindy Ruff is extra special.

The Buffalo native inked a one-year, $825,000 deal with the Sabres on Monday when free agency kicked off.

He says he grew up watching Lindy Ruff coach some legendary Sabres teams, like the 2006-2007 squad.

"I grew up watching all of those teams," Gilbert said. "Been fortunate to meet a lot of those guys. A lot of them helped train me, from Brian Campbell to Ellie to Kevyn back at the Academy of Hockey. There has been a lot of connections, but definitely with Lindy it is, uh, it's cool. I mean, when I grew up, you guys were all here, the city was just amazing. I was getting days off of school for playoff games and it was a special time and we have such a passionate fanbase here. When you think of those times you think of Lindy a lot. I think this is a super exciting time for the organization it makes signing here at this point in time a little more special."

Gilbert, who last played for the Calgary Flames, played for St. Joe’s Collegiate Institute and the Buffalo Junior Sabres prior to a three-year collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame. The 27-year-old played a career-high 34 games for Calgary this past season and had seven points (1+6). He has 12 fights in 82 career NHL games.

In addition to signing Gilbert, the Sabres also signed forward Jason Zucker to a one-year deal, forward Sam Lafferty to a two-year deal, forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel to a one-year deal and defenseman Jacob Bryson to a one-year deal since free agency began.