Buffalo Sabres New Player Profile: David Legwand

In addition to the Buffalo Sabres getting goaltender Robin Lehner from the Ottawa Senators this morning, they acquired some depth at the center position in David Legwand. Legwand was with the Senators for one season, and and he was a great depth center in their push towards the playoffs at the end of the year.

Related – Player Profile: Robin Lehner

According to Tim Murray, the way the trade talk with his father Brian Murray was that Legwand was a part of the deal “take it or leave it” (Tim Murray, Sabres.com) so he was added to the mix in order to clear up some cap space in Ottawa. Tim Murray seemed to be open to the fact that he has another depth veteran player to mentor his young core, but in all reality, I’m not sure if Legwand is around by the time training camp rolls around.

Before I get to that, let’s take a look at Legwand and see what he has to offer the Buffalo Sabres as a player.

David Legwand is a 34 year old center that stands at 6’2, 205lbs. He is a former 2nd overall pick in the 1998 draft (picked by the Nashville Predators) and he has played a consistent game across his career. Having ten seasons where he posted more than 35 points (53 in 2011-12 and 63 in 2006-07) Legwand has been a proven scorer in the NHL for many years now.

He brings in over 1000 games of NHL experience, and over 600 points to a roster of young players hoping to eventually hit those marks. Legwand is not a role player, he is an active dynamic player with great leadership qualities. He will be a great compliment to the likes of Brian Gionta in the leadership department.

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Legwand played most of his career with the Nashville Predators, so he understand what it means to have some rough seasons, and playoff disappointments. He has 55 playoff games of experience and I’m sure he will be looking to get back in the winning column soon.

Legwand does bring good qualities to the Buffalo Sabres, but his presence on the team was forced here in the trade where Murray primarily wanted goaltender Robin Lehner. Does that leave him as an expendable? Or does that leave Tim Murray with less cap room to fill up before the offseason ends? The choice is yours to decide, but I think Murray will try to flip Legwand in another Draft day deal. Whether he moves up from the 31st spot, or if he decides he wants to get back into the third round, Murray has that option to trade Legwand again.

There didn’t seem to be much attachment to him in general, but that could be due to the fact that Tim Murray will be Drafting Jack Eichel in a matter of hours while also having his future number one goaltender in Lehner, and also having his top winger in Evander Kane already.

With Legwand now being a Buffalo Sabre, there is much more center competition in the organization. I’m curious to see where it all goes in the near future.

Next: Final Mock Draft

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