Sabres deal Ryan Johnson to Pittsburgh in AHL trade

Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR) - In a minor league move, the Buffalo Sabres have traded former first-round pick Ryan Johnson to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defensemen Caleb Jones and Daniel Laatsch. Both Jones and Laatsch will report to the Rochester Americans unless Jones goes straight to Montreal to serve as the Sabres seventh defenseman Tuesday against the Canadiens. Rasmus Dahlin was injured in Monday's game and Lindy Ruff said he's not going with the team to Montreal so he can get treatment.

Johnson was the 31st overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. The pick that turned into Johnson was acquired from the St. Louis Blues in the Ryan O'Reilly trade. After spending four years in college with the Minnesota Gophers, Johnson signed in 2023. The 25-year-old played 47 games with the Sabres over three seasons with no goals and seven assists. With Rochester he dressed for 153 games regular season games scoring seven goals and 34 assists for 41 points. In 15 playoff games he had a goal and three assists.

Caleb Jones was taken in the fourth-round of the 2015 Draft by the Edmonton Oilers. The 29-year-old singed a free agent contract with Pittsburgh on July 2, 2025. He only got seven games in with the Pens recording one assist. In five games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins he had three assists. Jones has also played in the NHL for the Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings. That covers 255 games scoring 14 goals and 42 assists for 56 points. He's played 186 AHL games.

The Penguins took Laatsch in the seventh-round of the 2021 Draft and he has yet to play in the NHL. The 24-year-old played four seasons of college hockey with the Wisconsin Badgers. He turned pro in 2025 and played 29 games with the Wheeling Nailers of the East Coast League scoring three goals and eight assists for 11 points. In 10 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton he had three assists. He has yet to play a game this season.