Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - For the first time in years, the Buffalo Sabres are buying ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline in order to bolster some depth in the lineup ahead of their upcoming playoff push.
After missing out on the acquisition of Colton Parayko from the St. Louis Blues, the Sabres shifted gears quickly on Thursday by swinging a trade with the Winnipeg Jets for defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn. Chad DeDominicis of xBuffalo was the first to report the trade.
In return, the Sabres send Winnipeg forward Isak Rosén, defenseman Jacob Bryson, a conditional 2026 fourth-round pick (better of Buffalo/Edmonton Oilers) and a 2027 second-round pick.
Stanley is a massive presence from the blue line, standing at 6-foot-7 and 231 pounds. He also brings some snarl on the back end with 96 hits, as well as 99 penalty minutes - currently fourth in the NHL.
After being drafted in the first round (16th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft by the Jets, Stanley has dressed in 261 career games with Winnipeg, scoring 14 goals and adding 43 assists for 57 points.
The 27-year-old is actually in the midst of a career-year statistically, racking up nine goals and adding 12 assists for 21 points in 59 games played. That tops his career-year last season, where he had a goal and 13 assists for 14 points in 63 games.
While Stanley has never been known for his offensive prowess, he does possess one of the harder shots in the league as a left-handed shot. He has also seen his ice-time increase this season, averaging 17:12 a game as mostly a middle-pair defenseman.
He is currently in the final year of a two-year contract with a cap hit of $1.25 million, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
As for Schenn, if the veteran defenseman plays for the Sabres, it will be his 10th team played for over the course of his 18-year career in the NHL.
The 36-year-old has already played mostly a bottom pair role in Winnipeg this season, accounting for a goal and six assists for seven points in 46 games played, while averaging just 13:44 of ice-time.
Schenn was acquired by the Jets last season at the NHL Trade Deadline to provide some depth on the Winnipeg blue line for their playoff run. In parts of two seasons with the Jets, he played 61 points and produced nine points (1+8).
Over 1,118 career games in the NHL, the right-shot defenseman has scored 45 goals and added 167 assists for 212 points, mostly serving as a rugged defensive defenseman. He is a two-time Stanley Cup winner, when he won in back-to-back years with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
Schenn was a former first-round pick (fifth overall) of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2008 NHL Draft. He has also had stops in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, Vancouver Canucks, Lightning, Nashville Predators and Jets.
The veteran is currently in the final year of a three-year contract signed with the Nashville Predators in the summer of 2023 that's playing him $2.75 million annually.
Part of the deal going back to Winnipeg is Rosén, a former first-round pick (14th overall) of the Sabres in the 2021 NHL Draft.
While Rosén has performed well over the course of his four years with the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League, his production with the Sabres has not lived up to expectations. With the Amerks, Rosén has scored 87 goals and added 98 assists for 185 points in 231 games played.
In the NHL, though, Rosén has played in just 31 games, scoring three goals and registering five assists for eight points.
Rosén is in the final year of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent come this offseason at the age of 23.
As for Bryson, he has mainly served as Buffalo's seventh defenseman this season, appearing in just 35 games this year and accounting for five points (2+3).
The former fourth-round pick (99th overall) of the Sabres in the 2017 NHL Draft panned out quite well in parts of six seasons in Buffalo. Bryson has played 289 games to this point of his career, scoring six goals and adding 42 assists for 48 points and averaging 15:33 of ice-time.
The 28-year-old is also in the final year of his contract, and is set to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
The NHL Trade Deadline is set for 3 p.m. EST on Friday.
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