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Buffalo Sabres: Who will be their fifth and sixth defenseman?

By Robert Berger

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Phil Housley of the Buffalo Sabres speaks to the media following practice at Citi Field on December 31, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The team will take part in the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Years Day against the New York Rangers. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Phil Housley of the Buffalo Sabres speaks to the media following practice at Citi Field on December 31, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The team will take part in the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Years Day against the New York Rangers. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Matthew hunwick
NEWARK, NJ – MARCH 29: Matt Hunwick #22 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on March 29, 2018 in Newark, New Jersey. The Penguins defeated the Devils 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Matt Hunwick

Matt Hunwick came to Western New York as an extra piece in the trade that brought Conor Sheary to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a fourth round pick in next year’s draft. The trade was essentially a salary dump for the Penguins whereas as the Sabres were able to add scoring depth on the left side.

Hunwick is on year two of a $6.75 million/3 year free agent contract he signed with the Penguins In the summer of 2017. The undrafted defenseman has bounced around the league and in addition the Penguins, he has had stints with the Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Unfortunately for the Penguins, their biggest free agency signing of the summer was essentially a bust. Hunwick took a step backwards offensively and from a defense perspective he was obviously the worst defenseman on the team. Hunwick skated on the power play only once after New Year’s and was ranked near last of the team’s defenseman in regards to time on the penalty kill.


From an advanced statistics perspective, he was also at the bottom of the list of Penguins’ defenseman. His GA/60, CF%, and SCF% were all well below average.

Compounding the issues for Hunwick was the concussion he suffered in October which caused him to miss 15 games. His season never got on track after missing time. He was relegated to primarily the third defense pairing and was a healthy scratch multiple times throughout the season, including being a healthy scratch for the entire postseason.

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Another thing going against Hunwick as he starts his first season in Buffalo is that there are plenty of left handed defenseman to compete with. Rasmus Dahlin and Marcus Scandella are locked into the top 4 and there is also Jake McCabe and Nathan Beaulieu.

Matt Hunwick is going to need to impress in training camp if he is going to crack the starting lineup out of camp. His most likely spot will be in the press box as his role will be to add depth to the defense core.

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