Jarmo Kekalainen made his first trade as general manager of the Buffalo Sabres, and it isn't a move that anyone really expected. The team would acquire defenseman Gavin Bayreuther from the Carolina Hurricanes for forward Victor Neuchev. The team has assigned Bayreuther to the Rochester Americans to give the team some depth on their blueline.
Bayreuther is a veteran player who has played 271 games at the AHL level, most recently with the Chicago Wolves, which is the AHL-affiliate for the Carolina Hurricanes. This season, he has played in 33 games with four goals and nine assists.
However, he does have NHL experience and this might be one of the reasons Kekalainen traded for the defenseman. He spent three seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2020-21 through the 2022-23 season, which Kekalainen was the general manager during this time frame, and played in 103 games during that stretch wtih an average ice time of 14:41.
What does this trade mean for the Buffalo Sabres?
The move to acquire Bayreuther is probably not one the Sabres make, envisioning him coming up to Buffalo anytime soon. This trade was probably made to add depth to the blueline for the Rochester Amerks to replace some of the players who have been called up to Buffalo.
Over the past few weeks, the Sabres' defense has been hit relatively hard with injuries, as Conor Timmins is out with a broken leg, Michael Kesselring has missed a number of games but has since returned, and the latest player to suffer an injury was Jacob Bryson. Earlier this week, Lindy Ruff said that Bryson would "miss some time."
The injuries have forced the team to call up Zach Metsa and Zac Jones, so a move like this is to replace those players. However, it is also an indication that the team doesn't expect either player to go back down anytime soon, and means Bryson's absence will be an extended one.
Hopefully, Timmins is close to a return for Buffalo, but if not, then Metsa is a player who has a chance to see regular ice time on that third pair, likely with Michael Kesselring.