The Buffalo Sabres might have found their Bowen Byram replacement Friday by acquiring Olen Zellweger in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks.
Zellweger heads to the Sabres in exchange for prospect forward Anton Wahlberg and a second-round pick in Friday's NHL draft.
On Tuesday, the Sabres traded Byram along with forward Jordan Greenway to the Chicago Blackhawks in a deal that saw them receive the No. 4 and No. 45 picks in this year's draft plus defenseman Louis Crevier.
A few days later, the Sabres went out and added a puck-moving option such as Zellweger who was once part of the Ducks' prized farm system.
Zellweger, a second-round pick in 2021, finished with seven goals and 22 points in 76 games to help the Ducks reach the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
The idea that he could get moved this offseason started growing in earnest when the Ducks had too many top four options that resulted in him becoming a third-pairing defenseman. He had a second more ice time than Drew Helleson while averaging 48 more seconds than Radko Gudas.
His arrival gives the Sabres someone who could be used on their second pairing in a group that already has Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, and Mattias Samuelsson.
Zellweger is a restricted free agent in need of a new deal with the Sabres possessing $13.799 million in salary cap space, per PuckPedia.
Moving on from Zellweger was one less item for their front office to worry about in what has a chance to be an active offseason. They have only three defensemen under contract while Pavel Mintyukov and Tyson Hinds are also RFAs.
Anaheim could also require more reinforcements on the back end with John Carlson, Jacob Trouba, and Gudas all set to hit the open market before free agency opens next Wednesday.
