The Buffalo Sabres have finally bolstered their blue line, acquiring both D Logan Stanley and D Luke Schenn from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for F Isak Rosen, D Jacob Bryson, a 2027 second-round pick and a fourth-round pick in 2026 per TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger.
Winnipeg will retain 50 per cent of Schenn’s salary as part of the trade.
Stanley, 27, has nine goals and 21 points in 59 games with the Jets this season while averaging 17:12 of ice time.
The 6-foot-7, left-shot defenceman is on the final season of a two-year, $2.5 million contract that carries a cap hit of $1.25 million. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Drafted 18th overall by the Jets in 2016, Stanley has 14 goals and 57 points in 261 career games.
The 36-year-old Schenn has a goal and six points in 46 games with the Jets this season while averaging 13:44 of ice time.
He was acquired by the Jets at last year’s trade deadline from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for two draft picks.
The 6-foot-2, right-shot defenceman is on the final season of a three-year, $8.25 million contract and carries a cap hit of $2.75 million. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Schenn is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, helping the Lightning to back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021.
Rosen, 22, has three goals and seven points in 16 games at the NHL level with Buffalo this year. He was selected 14th overall by the Sabres in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Bryson, 28, is a left-shot defenceman that is a pending unrestricted free agent after this season. He has two goals and five points in 35 games in his sixth season in Buffalo.
The trade marks a major step in a complicated lead up to the trade deadline for the Sabres, who had an agreement in place with the St. Louis Blues earlier in the week to acquire Colton Parayko before the veteran defenceman blocked the trade using his no-movement clause.
There were also reports that the Sabres were among the teams aggressively pursuing Vancouver Canucks defenceman Tyler Myers, before he ultimately landed with the Dallas Stars, and TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston also reported that the Sabres were interested in Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Rasmus Ristolainen.
In the end, the Sabres – who thrashed the Penguins 5-1 on Thursday to move to a tie atop the Atlantic Division standings – gain two valuable pieces for the blue line as they look to snap an NHL-worst 14-season playoff appearance drought.