The Buffalo Sabres have acquired defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn from the Winnipeg Jets for Jacob Bryson, Isak Rosen, a 2026 fourth-round pick, and 2027 second-round pick, as per Darren Dreger and Murat Ates.
Jets Sell High on Stanley, Send Schenn With Him
The Jets, who won the Presidents’ Trophy last season but are near the bottom of the NHL this season, have sold high on their big blue liner. Stanley — a 6-foot-7, 230-pounder Winnipeg selected 18th overall in 2018 — has found a new level of offence and is having a career season, putting up nine goals and 12 assists for a career-high 21 points in 59 games after only scoring one goal in each of his first five seasons.
In 261-career games, the 27 year old left shooter has 14 goals and 43 assists for 57 points. He will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The 36 year old Schenn, meanwhile has one goal and six assists for seven points, 54 blocked shots, and 139 hits this season.
The Jets acquired the veteran at the 2025 Trade Deadline from the Pittsburgh Penguins to add experience and physicality to their blue line. However, the addition was not good value for a second-round and fourth-round pick as Schenn’s play has declined and his lack of speed has been an issue.
In 1,118 career-games between the Jets, Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks (two stints), Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, and Toronto Maple Leafs (two stints), he has 45 goals, 167 assists, 1668 blocked shots, and 3797 hits. He has three goals and five assists for eight points in 58-career playoff games.
Schenn, who was drafted by the Maple Leafs fifth overall in 2008, is on the final year of a three-year deal he signed with the Predators in 2023 with an average annual value of $2.75 million and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Jets will retain 50 per cent of his salary in the deal.
Sabres Bolster Blue Line Ahead of First Potential Playoff Run in Seemingly Forever, Jets Recoup New Assets & Draft Capital
The Sabres, who have been one of the NHL’s hottest teams since mid-December — and at second place in the Atlantic Division seem set to finally snap their NHL-long 14-year playoff drought — have added a lot of size and physicality to their blue line. Stanley and Schenn may well represent a “Plan B” after they lost out on Colton Parayko, who refused to waive his no-movement clause with the St. Louis Blues.
Related: 4 Teams That Should Be Major Buyers at the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline
In Stanley, they are getting a blue liner whose offensive outburst has come out of nowhere but whose actual defensive metrics have remained poor. While he has been gaffe prone throughout his career and is not fast, he has done well on the Jets’ top four this season and has also recently seen time on the power play.
In Schenn, the Sabres are getting a player who Father Time is catching up to, but is still capable of dishing out some hellacious hits and making life miserable for his opponents in a sheltered third-pairing role. He is second among active NHLers in hits and also has Stanley Cup pedigree as he won back-to-back Cups with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
The Jets, despite capturing at least a point in five-straight games out of the Winter Olympic break (3-0-2) are still seven points out of a Western Conference wild-card spot. While they have not been sellers at a deadline for several years, their focus has now shifted on amassing prospects and draft capital for a planned retool.
Rosen, 22, is the big fish when it comes to the return for Winnipeg. The left winger, drafted 14th overall in 2021, has been highly productive at the American Hockey League level, with 87 goals over parts of four seasons with the Rochester Americans. The Swedish product has three goals and five assists for eight points in 31-career NHL games, with seven of those eight points coming this season.
Bryson, a left-shooting defenseman who stands 5-foot-8, has spent his entire career with the Sabres since being drafted in the fourth round in 2017. The 27 year old has two goals and three assists for five points in 35 games this season and six goals and 42 assists for 48 points in 289-career games.
The 2026 fourth rounder coming the Jets’ way will be the better of the Sabres or the Edmonton Oilers’, which Buffalo also owns.
