The Buffalo Sabres continued to juggle their roster this off season. This past weekend, the Sabres signed free agent Marcus Johansson to a two-year deal after the forward had a terrific post season with the Boston Bruins.
This week, the Sabres completed a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks and bolstered their blue line with a young defenseman. 
The Hawks sent blueliner Henri Jokiharju to Buffalo
In exchange, Chicago received forward Alexander Nylander.
Both players are recent draftees with Jokiharju drafted in the first-round pick (No. 29) in the 2017 NHL Draft; Jokiharju iced 38 games for the Blackhawks and had 12 assists this past season. He played 30 games for the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL and kicked in two goals and 17 points.
“Henri is a young, mobile defenseman who has shown he can compete at the NHL level,” Sabres General Manager Jason Botterill said. “His international success last season only furthered his development and we are excited to add him to our current group of defensemen.”
For Nylander, 21, the NHL has been just out of reach in the Sabres organization. He was Buffalo’s first round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft at the eighth selection.
“I thought maybe I’d be in the NHL sooner than I have been. But I’m just really excited, really looking forward to being part of the Blackhawks organization and they’re really good at developing players,” Nylander said. “So they obviously know what they’re doing, and I’m just trying to do my best. The stuff that happened in Buffalo and Rochester is in the past.
“Of course, you want to be in the NHL as soon as you want to be, but now I’m just looking forward for the future and going to give it my all. I’m just really happy for being here and being part of the Chicago Blackhawks organization.”
Nylander had two goals and two assists in 12 games with the Sabres this past season and added 12 goals and 31 points icing in 49 games for the Rochester Americans in the AHL.
“I expect him to be fighting for a spot on our team, for sure,” Chicago general manager Stan Bowman said. “We don’t hand out those jobs in the summer, but I think with his offensive talent and his skill level, it’s certainly exciting to think what he can be when you put him with some of the players we have. If you look at our team last year, we have two pretty good pairs there between [forward Patrick] Kane and [center Jonathan] Toews, [center Dylan] Strome and [forward Alex] DeBrincat. One thing about Alex that’s appealing, as well, is he can play left and right wing.
“Not every player can do that, but he has the skill level to play on the off wing. Looking at our top two lines, one line we’re probably looking for a left wing, the other we’re looking for a right winger. Those tandems may not stay in place, but the way we ended the year, it’s probably something we’re going to start with. So now it’s a question of, who do we fill in around them, and I think Alex is a candidate. But it’s still early to see where that’s going to go.”
In Denver, the Colorado Avalanche made the smart move and extended the contract for head coach Jared Bednar by two years.
“I’d like to thank Stan and Josh Kroenke, (general manger) Joe Sakic and the entire Avalanche organization for continuing to show their faith in me to lead this team,” Bednar said. “I am grateful and honored to be the head coach of the Avalanche. We’re moving in the right direction with the group that we have here. This team has an exciting future and I am ecstatic to be part of it.”
Injuries plagued the Avs in the middle of the season and caused their offense to go quiet for a long stretch. Bednar rallied the team to make the playoffs as the second wild card in the Western Conference where they bounced the Calgary Flames in five games in the opening round.
The Avs ended the regular season with a 38-30-14 record.
“Jared has done a tremendous job behind the bench and has earned the opportunity to continue leading this team,” Avs general manager Joe Sakic said. “He is an outstanding coach who has the full trust of his players, coaches and staff. He has guided this franchise to two straight playoff appearances and we are excited with what this group can do moving forward.”
Colorado lost in the second round to the San Jose Sharks in a thrilling seven games.
You must be logged in to post a comment.