When you look at the players the Buffalo Sabres acquired ahead of and at the NHL trade deadline and compare them to the rumored/alleged trades that fell through, it’s really easy to feel like they did themselves a disservice.
The Sabres raided the Winnipeg Jets to get defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn in a trade that sent forward Isak Rosén, defenseman Jacob Bryson, a 2027 second-round pick and a conditional 2026 fourth-round pick to the Jets. They also added forward Tanner Pearson for a 2026 seventh-round pick.
Buffalo also added forward Sam Carrick from the New York Rangers for 2026 third-and-sixth-round picks.
Adding those players after the week started hot with connections to the St. Louis Blues for star forward Robert Thomas and Canadian Olympic defenseman Colton Parayko, the latter a deal that was agreed upon but nixed after Parayko didn’t waive his no-trade clause for the move, could make it seem like the Sabres decided to go digging through the clearance racks instead. Looking at the numbers, both box car and advanced, of the players they added don’t help make things look shinier.
Keeping in mind the Jets have been among the worst teams in the league this season, among players with 400 or more minutes played at 5-on-5, Schenn and Stanley have the lowest expected goals-for percentages on the team (39.2 for Schenn, 43.5 for Stanley) and Pearson isn’t much better (46.7). Schenn and Stanley also had the worst goals against per-60 rates among Jets defensemen with 400 or more 5-on-5 minutes as well (Schenn 3.15; Stanley 2.57). The Jets bled scoring chances against when they were on the ice and they didn’t help produce them either.
By the standard numbers, Schenn’s don’t pop your eyes, but Stanley’s do. Schenn has a goal and six assists in 46 games while Stanley is having a career-year with nine goals and 12 assists and 99 penalty minutes. Coming into this season, Stanley had five career goals and he’s blown by that total just this season. In speaking with those who cover the Jets, Stanley’s improvements this season have been beyond notable and the growth in his game made him go from a guy getting booed by home fans to cheered openly. The similarities in narrative to Mattias Samuelsson are obvious, but the overall results and individual stats are obviously much more improved in Samuelsson’s case.
Still, the Sabres felt they had a need to add on their third pairing and although Bryson has been a great soldier and solid contributor over the years with the Sabres, he fell out of the loop as this season went on. Zach Metsa earned more trust from Lindy Ruff and Bryson became the extra on the blue line. While Metsa has been very good in limited minutes, the righty-righty pairing with Michael Kesselring was more of a pairing in name as Ruff would deploy them strategically and help stagger out the shifts and minutes to the top four. With Bryson off to Winnipeg and Schenn potentially sliding in as the No. 7 defenseman, the depth and size are physically bigger and more experienced.
“I’m a big believer that the further you get into the spring, you need that size that protects the front of the net,” Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen said. “Luke Schenn has a Stanley Cup, and he knows what it takes to go through the grind the further into the spring and the summer you can get. Logan Stanley, obviously a huge man, 6-foot-7, and length, there’s the size and ability to clear the front of the net. I think, again, the further you get into the springtime here, and we’re in a battle here now to make it to the postseason. So, I think that’s really important. We’ve tightened up the defensive game by being real strong in front of our own net.”
Having elite defensemen like Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Samuelsson and Bo Byram play on their off-hand with regularity is one thing, but asking Metsa and Kesselring to do it all the time on a pair that’s more likely to run into trouble was something else entirely. Adding Stanley and swapping out Metsa or Kesselring (almost certainly to be Metsa) to give the third pair a standard left-right alignment gives them a pairing they feel they can roll out together and give the top four an actual rest periodically.
Stanley’s size changes the dynamic of the third pair immensely. His highlight reel of hits and fights will get the old school Sabres fans pumped up and so long as he doesn’t get caught out of position or overly bleed chances against with Kesselring or Schenn or Metsa, the Sabres can be excited about that for the 10-12 minutes a game that pair will get.
Even though the Sabres top four gets ridden heavily, it’s what’s helped make them such a good team this season. Adding the likes of Stanley and Schenn to the back end doesn’t change any of that apart from maybe changing some of the PK or late-game usage to defend a lead or deal with shift disturbers.
Carrick’s addition is almost a throwback move. One of his best abilities is winning faceoffs and the Sabres have been brutal at winning draws this season. Buffalo has the lowest team faceoff percentage in the league at 45.0 percent. Minnesota is second to last at 46.1 percent. It’s bad and it’s been that way all season although you wouldn’t realize it because of how much they’ve been winning. But in big situations, it’s been an issue.
“It’s a big deal because if you had it at 60-some percent of the time or 70 percent of the time, the other team’s chasing you,” Ruff said. “So, we’re giving up possession a lot of the times. If you can get to 50 percent, you’ve got a pretty good faceoff team. From 44 to 50 is a big deal. Big faceoffs late in the game, late in periods are real important and that’s where a key guy can step in whether it now be Carrick, we’ve got Norris who can be an option on the left side and we’ve also got a second option with Tommer on the right.”
Carrick won 53.9 percent of his draws with the Rangers this season and although that percentage wasn’t among the best on that team, he’s an immediate ace on the Sabres. Tyson Kozak and Josh Norris are their top guys on draws at 49.1 percent with Ryan McLeod (46.7) and Tage Thompson (46.0) behind them.
You don’t want to oversell the importance of faceoffs and lord knows faceoffs have been enough of a petty arguing point on social media in the past, but in situations where you have to win the puck and gain possession, the Sabres having someone like Carrick to do that ideally changes that dynamic in a way that can make a big difference.
Carrick will play on the fourth line and his makeup us a player makes him an ideal fit alongside Beck Malenstyn and whether it’s Zach Benson or Peyton Krebs or Tanner Pearson on the left side, it’s a group that knows its role and takes care of business.
As for Pearson, at 33 years old and having been a key contributor to past Los Angeles Kings teams and later going through injury hell already in his career, his wealth of experience comes in handy as either a fourth line player or a reserve.
Like the other Jets they added, his advanced stats are brutal, but with Jordan Greenway and Justin Danforth’s seasons in question thanks to injury, a veteran like Pearson will give the Sabres an option off the bench as opposed to demanding more help from an already very taxed and weary AHL team in Rochester.
It’s easy to look at the moves made and have that dread sense of gloom that the Same Ol’ Sabres are about to make a roaring comeback and screw up the path to the playoffs. All the moves they’ve made have done is simplify what they want to do with their third pair on defense and added veterans to their depth in case of injury disaster.
You know, because they’ve been dealing with injury mayhem all season long and the last time in the world you want to be dealing with it again is in the postseason. That’s something Ruff knows all too well and so do you.