The Buffalo Sabres moved on from Michael Kesselring on Wednesday when they traded him to the San Jose Sharks and their 27th overall pick to move up seven spots to the 20th overall pick. Almost one year ago, the Sabres were trading for Kesselring, along with Josh Doan, for JJ Peterka and the hope was that he could fit into their Top 4.
Since that point, Mattias Samuelsson emerged as one of the team's better defenseman and Bowen Byram re-signed on a two-year deal. Meanwhile, Kesselring's time with the Sabres was heavily impacted by injuries that started in training camp.
By the time he was fully healthy and ready to compete, their Top 4 was set, and all four are expected back next season. The Sabres could have tried to re-sign Kesselring, who was a restricted free agent, and sell him on the idea of being a piece of their third pair, but that didn't seem to be something Kesselring wanted.
Now that he is gone, the Sabres have to figure out how they want to go about filling Kesselring's spot on the roster. They are more than likely going to be looking for someone who can play alongside Conor Timmins, and with that in mind, along with limited cap space available to dedicate to this spot, these are four players that could be realistic options,
Zach Metsa
Zach Metsa was one of the big surprises this past season, as he was a longtime AHL player before making his NHL debut this season one day after turning 27 years old. He would go on to play in 43 regular season games with an average of just under 11 minutes of ice time and an impressive +/- of +16.
There are certainly concerns with Metsa, most notably his size at 5'9", and this was one of the reasons he only played in two playoff games. However, even in the limited time, he still made an impact with a goal and a +/- of -1.
The Sabres are going to need to add another defenseman, but Metsa at this point should be viewed as the favorite next to Conor Timmins.
Logan Stanley
Logan Stanley, along with Luke Schenn, joined the Sabres at the trade deadline in March, and both are set to be unrestricted free agents. Among the two, Stanley is probably the more likely to be brought back as he is younger and presents more upside at this point in his career over Schenn.
Stanley is a big defenseman at 6'7", but doesn't skate as well as some of the other Sabres' defensemen and struggles with some passing out of the zone and he had 14 giveaways in 17 regular season games. With all the concerns, he did have one of his best offensive seasons with nine goals and 17 assists, which were both career highs.
A third pair of Conor Timmins and Stanley had some success during the regular season. According to MoneyPuck, they finished with an expected goal % of 61.8% in about 40 minutes of ice time.
The return of Logan Stanley is going to come down to what contract the two sides can agree to, and that is a big unknown with the upcoming free agency. The salary cap made a big jump this season, and teams are going to have money to spend, but if the Sabres can agree to a two or three-year deal with an AAV under $2 million, he could be the answer to replace Kesselring.
Vsevolod Komarov
By trading Michael Kesselring, the Buffalo Sabres have created a realistic path to bring up a defenseman from Rochester. While fans are excited to see Radim Mrtka in Buffalo, and that is certainly a possibility, Vsevolod Komarov seems like the player who has the better chance of being with the Sabres next season.
Komarov was a fifth-round pick by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2022 NHL Draft and has played in 124 games over three seasons with the Americans. During that stretch, he has six goals, 23 assists, and a +/- of +5.
While he may not be as big as Logan Stanley, he certainly has the size to play in the NHL at 6'2". He is entering the final year of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent after this season. It could be a great chance to bring him up to see if the Sabres should re-sign him after the season.
Brett Kulak
If the Sabres believe Metsa or Komarov could be the answer for their sixth defenseman next to Conor Timmins and want to add a veteran as the seventh defenseman, then a player like Brett Kulak makes sense. This past season, he played for three teams as he began the season with the Edmonton Oilers before being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins and then traded once again, this time to the Colorado Avalanche
Even with moving around the league, Kulak showed he could be a valuable contributor on the blueline as he played in 83 games and averaged almost 19 minutes per game. However, with what the Sabres currently have for their blueline they don't need him to do as much. He can be a valuable veteran insurance for this group as a depth defenseman on what should be a one-year deal near the veteran minimum.
The Buffalo Sabres moving Michael Kesselring brings some clarity to the position but opens up a number of possibilities for Jarmo Kekalainen as he looks to finalize this position group over the next few weeks.
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