In March, the Buffalo Sabres acquired defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for winger Isak Rosen, defenseman Jacob Bryson, a second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft and a conditional fourth-round selection in this year's draft.
Now we know the final aspect of that trade.
The Sabres will send the Edmonton Oilers' fourth-rounder to the Jets because the Anaheim Ducks' elimination of Connor McDavid and Co. in the first-round of the NHL playoffs on Thursday night guarantees that pick will be better than Buffalo's choice in the same round, per PuckPedia.
It's the third time that draft choice has changed hands.
Edmonton sent it to the Boston Bruins, the Sabres' current opening-round opponent, in a March 2025 deal. A few days later, Boston flipped it to Buffalo to acquire blueliner Henri Jokiharju.
Now it's the Jets who are set to make that selection, unless they decide to trade it again before the 2026 NHL Draft, which is scheduled to take place June 26-27 in Buffalo.
Buffalo Sabres face upcoming free-agent decisions on Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn
The Sabres struggled to receive consistent play from their third defensive pair all season, in large part due to extended injury absences for Michael Kesselring and Conor Timmins.
That's why Buffalo general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was so aggressive hunting blue-line upgrades before the deadline. He first reached an agreement with the St. Louis Blues for Colton Parayko, but the veteran defenseman used his no-trade clause to block the deal.
Kekalainen then shifted focus to Stanley and Schenn. The cost felt a bit high, especially since both blueliners are impending unrestricted free agents, but the longtime NHL executive didn't want to risk not having a defensive security blanket in the playoffs.
Once the Sabres' postseason run ends, he'll have to decide what to do with the trade acquisitions.
Stanley has carved out a full-time role for himself on the third pair, though he's questionable for Game 6 against the Bruins on Friday night because of an illness.
His limited skating ability sticks out like sore thumb at times compared to Buffalo's highly mobile top-four defense group, but the results were initially solid. He posted a 54.8% expected goals share at 5-on-5 in 17 regular-season games after the trade, per Natural Stat Trick. It's dipped to 46.1% through five games against Boston, though.
Kekalainen may feel a little pressure to retain Stanley to ensure the Sabres receive continued value from the trade, but he'll never be more than a third-pair option.
Meanwhile, it's hard to imagine a scenario where Schenn returns to Buffalo next season. The 36-year-old defenseman is aiming to show he's still an NHL-caliber player at this stage of his career but played just four games for the Blue and Gold during the stretch run of the regular season.
Schenn probably isn't interested in being a No. 7 or No. 8 defenseman after 18 years in the NHL, so he'll probably enter free agency seeking a spot in the top six somewhere else.
If both Stanley and Schenn ultimately leave Buffalo this summer, and the Sabres don't win the Cup, the trade pendulum will probably swing in Winnipeg's favor. Neither Rosen or Bryson was overly impressive for the Jets to finish the season, but they still have two picks in the pocket from the deal.
That said, it was still a worthwhile venture for Kekalainen, who had little choice beyond making sure his team had enough defensive depth for its long-awaited playoff return.
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