Sabres Shopping Devon Levi
With the Sabres carrying three goalies all season long, there hasn’t been a place for youngster Devon Levi. Once viewed as their netminder of the future, now, it appears that he’s a trade chip. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports (Twitter link) that the Sabres are now shopping the 24-year-old.
Levi was a seventh-round pick by Florida back in 2020 and has certainly outperformed that draft slot. He never suited up for the Panthers as he was instead part of the trade that saw Sam Reinhart go to Florida. Levi immediately became Buffalo’s top goalie prospect and after a strong college career, he turned pro in 2023, nearly helping lead the Sabres to an improbable late playoff spot that ultimately came up just short.
That had expectations sky-high heading into the 2023-24 campaign. However, he wasn’t able to live up to them and wound up splitting the year between Buffalo and AHL Rochester. Levi was then expected to be a factor last season but only saw nine NHL games with the bulk of his playing time coming in the minors. This year, he has played exclusively with the Amerks, posting a 2.71 GAA and a .909 SV% in 38 contests.
Levi has a total of 39 career outings with Buffalo under his belt but his under-the-hood numbers aren’t the greatest, with a 3.29 GAA and a .894 SV%, though last year’s short disastrous stint does skew those a bit.
Levi is still waiver-exempt this season and is signed through next year at a cap hit of just $812.5K, putting him below next year’s league minimum. That could make him an especially appealing target for a team that’s looking for some potential upside in a backup goalie while trying to keep their costs down, so Buffalo should be able to get some interest in him.
With Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen signed long-term and starting to live up to the potential he was thought to have early in his career and Colten Ellis showing some promise, it looks like the Sabres have at least their short-term goalie tandem intact. Luukkonen is signed through 2028-29 while Ellis is under club control through 2027-28, meaning there isn’t necessarily a spot for Levi anymore. While his value isn’t as high as it was a couple of years ago, Levi’s value could drop next season once he’s waiver-blocked so the time might be right for GM Jarmo Kekalainen to move him.
Colton Parayko Won’t Waive Trade Protection Before The Deadline
After he nixed a trade that would have sent him to Buffalo, there was still some speculation that Blues defenseman Colton Parayko would approve a trade to a team that he’d be more interested in going to. However, that won’t be the case. On today’s TradeCentre broadcast on TSN (video link), Pierre LeBrun reported that the blueliner will not be waiving his no-trade protection before today’s trade deadline.
The 32-year-old has been a fixture on the back end in St. Louis for more than a decade now while making multiple international appearances as well, including in last month’s Olympics. That track record was enough to elicit what would have been a strong return from the Sabres, one that was believed to have included a top prospect in Radim Mrtka and a first-round pick, even though Parayko is in the middle of a down season offensively.
After putting up career highs in goals (16) and points (36) last season, he has just one tally along with 13 assists in 58 games this season and is now currently sidelined with back spasms. However, Parayko is still logging over 22 minutes of playing time per night with tough defensive matchups.
Parayko has four years left on his contract after this one with a $6.5MM price tag so it’s reasonable to think that his market would still be strong should teams decide to make a pitch for his services in the offseason. At that time, he might be more open to move depending on what the landscape is at the time while not having to immediately uproot his family.
In the meantime, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this result in an uptick in interest in another St. Louis right-shot defender, Justin Faulk. Signed through next season at a $6.5MM price tag, the 33-year-old has been speculated to be in play in recent days and doesn’t have full trade protection like Parayko, just a 15-team no-trade list. With the Blues unable to get anything for Parayko right now, GM Doug Armstrong redoubling his efforts to ensure he gets a strong return for Faulk and cash in on the demand for impact defenders would make a lot of sense.
Maple Leafs Making Anthony Stolarz Available
Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz has found his way into a few trade conversations, according to Kevin Weekes of ESPN. The likelihood of him being on the move seems reasonably low with a limited goalie market and several higher-clout names out there, namely Jordan Binnington and Sergei Bobrovsky, as Weekes reaffirms, but it’s still a new development to see Stolarz’s name mentioned as available.
It’s understandable, given the season Stolarz has had. The 32-year-old has appeared in just 20 games for Toronto with a .891 save percentage and a 7-8-3 record. Behind the Leafs’ average defense, that translates to -8.8 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck. On a per 60 basis, his -0.486 mark is fifth-worst in the league (min. 18 games). It’s a stunning reversal after leading the league in save percentage in back-to-back seasons in backup/tandem deployment with the Leafs and Panthers.
That two-year sample between 2023-25, in which Stolarz posted a .926 SV% and 2.10 GAA in 61 starts with a 37-15-5 record, would make Stolarz an intriguing 1B option for a team that needs one. His contract, a four-year, $15MM extension with a modified no-trade clause that kicks in next season, won’t be particularly desirable with his injury history, though.
While his numbers haven’t been great, the lack of playing time this year has mostly stemmed from an upper-body injury that sidelined him for over two months and nearly half of Toronto’s schedule. It’s the third time in four seasons that he’s been available for at least a quarter of his team’s games. No matter how well he plays, he can’t be relied upon as a starting or 1A option year-to-year with that kind of propensity for injuries.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: Deadline Day!
Josh Erickson held a live chat this morning ahead of the 2:00 p.m. Central trade deadline. You can click this link to view the transcript or read through it in the embedded window below:
Max Shabanov Open To A Trade
Last year, winger Max Shabanov was a highly sought-after free agent from the KHL after putting up 67 points in 65 games with Traktor Chelyabinsk. The Islanders were the winners of those sweepstakes with the expectation that he’d be able to step in and contribute right away.
However, things haven’t gone quite as planned so far. The 25-year-old has just four goals and 12 assists in 40 games this season while being a frequent healthy scratch as of late. He’s averaging just shy of 14 minutes per game on the campaign but given that he’s on the outside looking in at a lineup spot, it appears he’s open to a potential change of scenery. Stefan Rosner of The Elmonters reports that Shabanov is open to a trade in the hopes of receiving a larger opportunity on another team.
Shabanov is certainly affordable for most teams as his entry-level deal only carries a base salary of $975K. While he has $3.5MM of potential performance bonuses in his contract, $2.5MM of those are ‘B’ bonuses which he clearly isn’t going to reach while he hasn’t met the criteria to unlock any of his four ‘A’ bonuses either. Should he be dealt and reach any of those, the acquiring team would be responsible for the payment and salary cap charge.
Because Shabanov was capped to a one-year contract in the entry-level system, he’s slated to become a restricted free agent with salary arbitration rights this summer. His performance so far isn’t setting him up for a big payday but a change of scenery with a bigger role down the stretch could boost his earning potential.
New York enters today with a little over $6MM in LTIR space, per PuckPedia, so GM Mathieu Darche will have some options in a potential Shabanov trade. He can take on a bigger contract if he finds a player that’s a better fit for their lineup instead of being capped at trying to match money as some buyers are stuck trying to do at the moment. Given how many teams were interested in Shabanov last summer, it wouldn’t be shocking to see at least a few of them kick the tires on trying to get the winger into their system.
Sabres Acquire Sam Carrick From Rangers
March 6: The Sabres have officially announced the deal.
March 5: The Sabres are set to acquire center Sam Carrick from the Rangers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. New York receives Buffalo’s third-round pick and Chicago’s sixth-round pick in this year’s draft in return, Friedman added later. Carrick was held out of tonight’s win over the Maple Leafs for asset protection.
Carrick, 34, is just past the midway point of the three-year, $3MM contract he landed in Manhattan as a free agent in 2024. At a cap hit of $1MM, he’s been a legitimately impactful fourth-line pivot for the Rangers for the past year-plus. In 140 games for the Blueshirts, he netted 10 goals and 30 points while averaging 11:17 of ice time per game. He went 54.1% in the faceoff circle and put up exceptional possession numbers for his role as a defensive specialist at 5-on-5.
That last part has been especially true this season. He’s actually managed a cumulative +3 rating despite starting over 75% of his shifts in the defensive zone since arriving in New York, and the Rangers’ most-used fourth-line combo this season of Carrick, Adam Edstrom, and Matt Rempe has controlled 55.6% of expected goals.
While Buffalo’s main goal at the deadline is to add right-shot depth at defense, acquiring a #4 center behind their strong one-two-three punch of Tage Thompson, Ryan McLeod, and Joshua Norris was likely the second checkbox on GM Jarmo Kekäläinen‘s list. They haven’t had a stable option down the middle on the fourth line all year, frequently alternating between Joshua Dunne and Tyson Kozak. Combined, they have 106 games of NHL experience compared to Carrick’s 380.
Longevity aside, Carrick is a legitimate upgrade on both sides of the puck. Dunne has just four points for his career in 46 games, while Kozak has four points in 39 games this year. Dunne hasn’t cracked 100 draws on the year, while Kozak has won a respectable but upgradeable 49.1%. Kozak, in particular, has also posted worse possession impacts than Carrick in comparable defensive/offensive zone splits at 5-on-5.
Carrick also gives the Sabres a plug-and-play option at the position through next season while being a cost-effective 13th forward if he does fall out of the regular rotation. That latter consideration is important for a team that finds itself in unfamiliar territory close to the upper limit, needing to use virtually all their available space for next season to get new deals done for Alex Tuch and Zach Benson.
Ducks Acquire John Carlson
A midnight blockbuster kicks off deadline day. The Ducks announced they’ve acquired two-time All-Star defenseman John Carlson from the Capitals. Washington lands a conditional first-round pick in return, plus Anaheim’s third-round pick in 2027. Anaheim will send its 2026 first-rounder if they make the playoffs this year; if not, then they have the option to send their 2027 pick instead.
Last night, it looked like adding a winger was the Ducks’ deadline priority. That may still be in play heading into sunrise on Friday, but for now, they’ve made a major splash on their blue line to load up on a veteran-heavy right side that already includes imposing shutdown pieces Radko Gudas and Jacob Trouba.
They do so by acquiring a name that few believed would ever be on the move. While a pending unrestricted free agent, Carlson has been the face of Washington’s defense group for well over a decade, taking over #1 honors from the high-octane Mike Green around the time of the 2012 lockout. The 6’3″ righty may have lost a bit of a step from his days as a consensus top-10 defender in the league throughout the late 2010s, but he still finished 16th in Norris Trophy voting just last season and has put up even better boxcar stats here in 2025-26.
At age 36, Carlson hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down. He’s put up 10 goals, 36 assists and 46 points in 55 outings this year to rank 13th in the league among defenders at 0.84 points per game. It’s his best offensive showing since finishing 10th in Norris voting in 2021-22 and the fifth-best season of his 17-year career on a per-game basis. He immediately becomes Anaheim’s fourth-leading scorer this season behind their young forward triumvirate of Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson, and Beckett Sennecke, and that’s despite having his minutes in Washington drop to #2 deployment behind dominant lefty Jakob Chychrun. The minute-muncher’s 22:52 average time on ice is his lowest figure since the 2016-17 campaign.
The Caps had hinted at a sell-off yesterday morning by sending Nic Dowd to the Golden Knights. This is a move of an entirely different caliber, essentially closing the book on a disappointing follow-up to last year’s Eastern Conference regular-season championship.
A 3-2 loss to the Mammoth on Tuesday dropped their record to 31-25-7, and after the conclusion of Thursday’s games, they’re only four points back of the Bruins for the playoff cutoff. The Blue Jackets and Senators stand between them, though, and all three clubs have two games in hand on the Caps. With their playoff chances down under 25% as a result, the Caps will continue the on-the-fly retooling mindset that’s kept them competitive following their 2018 Stanley Cup championship by selling off their older assets – as hard as it may be – to continue stocking their cupboards with futures.
Of note, there is no extension in place between Carlson and the Ducks at the time of the deal, and those talks aren’t yet scheduled to take place, per Frank Seravalli of Victory+. There’s a real chance the Ducks, looking to wrestle the Pacific Division title away from the Golden Knights for their first postseason berth since 2018, are taking on the potential Hall-of-Fame defender as a rental.
While Carlson’s reputation is that of a more one-dimensional puck-mover, his two-way game has improved drastically in the later stages of his career. He’s continued to log major shorthanded minutes in D.C. and has had spectacular possession metrics for several seasons now, including a 53.2% Corsi For share at 5-on-5 this season. That’ll fit in well with an Anaheim group that’s completely turned around its two-way play, albeit in a high-event manner, under head coach Joel Quenneville. It also means there’s a natural fit for him to slide in alongside Jackson LaCombe on the Ducks’ top unit to let Trouba and Gudas patrol the ice against lesser competition, ideally boosting the Ducks’ puck possession when LaCombe isn’t on the ice.
The Ducks, with five of their top seven scorers this season aged 25 or younger, won’t miss a first-round choice in the next two years too much. They’re still armed with an above-average prospect pool and still have a decent stable of relatively high picks, including three second-round selections in 2027 that can be packaged to move up. The Caps, who were short on depth picks this year after trading away their second and third-rounders, will now likely end up with a pair of first-round selections that they can either use or flip for NHL-ready talent today or at the draft.
It will still be incredibly jarring to see the Caps’ roster without Carlson for the first time since 2009. A first-round pick the year prior, Carlson ends his time in Washington with 166 goals, 605 assists, and 771 points in 1,143 games. All of those are franchise records for defenders – by relatively wide margins – and he ranks fifth among all skaters in franchise history in points behind Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Bäckström, Peter Bondra, and Mike Gartner.
Image courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the trade.
Blue Jackets Acquire Conor Garland
The Blue Jackets are in agreement to acquire winger Conor Garland from the Canucks, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Vancouver gets a second and third-round pick in return, Frank Seravalli of Victory+ reports. The second-round pick involved is the Blue Jackets’ 2028 selection, according to Thomas Drance of The Athletic. Reports of Columbus and Vancouver discussing a Garland trade were first reported by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Both teams have since made the deal official.
Columbus traded Egor Chinakhov to the Penguins for the same price in December. There has been a hole in the depth chart ever since, forcing Miles Wood onto his off-side right-wing. The Blue Jackets solve that problem with the addition of Garland, who should beat out Kent Johnson for second on the depth chart to Kirill Marchenko.
Garland has scored seven goals and 26 points in 50 games this season. That’s just under the scoring pace that led him to the second 50-point season of his career last year. He has made up for that dip by recording the second-most blocks (28) on the Canucks offense, behind Elias Pettersson. Garland has also averaged a career-high 18:57 in ice time, narrowly beating out his previous high of 18:39 set last season.
Now in his age-30 season, Garland has finally seemed to find his rut as a hard-working, second-line winger. He averaged 19 goals and 49 points per 82 games played in five seasons with the Canucks – while only missing 18 games. The bulk of those absences – 11 – came this season, sprinkled between two undisclosed, short-term injuries and a bout with illness.
The Blue Jackets will hope Garland can bring the top-six spark they need to pull ahead of the Eastern Conference Wild Card race. They sit one point behind the Boston Bruins for the second spot, with the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals both three points behind. The Blue Jackets sit in the middle of the pack, 17th in the league, in goals-scored this season.
Columbus’ 3.13 goals-per-game season average has risen to 3.75 goals in 16 games under new head coach Rick Bowness. The Blue Jackets have a 13-2-1 record in those games and now add another winger capable of reaching 20 goals this season.
Garland has achieved the feat twice before, in Vancouver’s 2023-24 season and with the Arizona Coyotes in the 2019-20 season. That performance stamped Garland’s spot in the league after he debuted with 13 goals in 47 games the year prior. The 5-foot-10 winger was a fifth-round draft pick from the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats in 2015.
Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.
Sabres Acquire Luke Schenn, Logan Stanley
The Sabres are working on a trade to acquire defensemen Luke Schenn and Logan Stanley from the Jets, sources tell David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Chad DeDominicis of Expected Buffalo was first to report that the deal was in process. In return, Winnipeg will receive Buffalo’s 2027 second-round pick, forward prospect Isak Rosen, and left-defender Jacob Bryson per Frank Seravalli of Victory+.
Both the Sabres and Jets have confirmed the deal.
It appears Schenn, 36, will be heading to the 10th team of his 18-year career. It’ll also be his second straight year being moved at the deadline. He arrived in Winnipeg this time last season via the Penguins, who he never actually played for after being acquired from the Predators two days prior. He’s now in the final season of the three-year, $8.25MM pact he signed with Nashville as a free agent in 2023.
Few Jets skaters have lived up to expectations this season. Schenn is no exception. Even in a bottom-pairing role, he’s looked overmatched, posting seven points and a -11 rating in 46 outings. He’s been in the press box for stretches, has only averaged 13:44 of ice time per game when dressed, and Winnipeg has been outscored 29-16 with him on the ice at 5-on-5 while controlling only 43.4% of shot attempts.
The 2008 fifth overall pick has been a third-pairing piece for most of his NHL career, but he’s now operating as more of a #7/#8 piece – even on a team outside of the playoff picture like Winnipeg. He does still provide physical value – he leads the Jets with 139 hits, a figure that now ranks third on Buffalo behind Beck Malenstyn and Peyton Krebs.
Outside of that, he’ll provide the Sabres with experienced and much-needed right-shot depth, but whether he factors into their lineup on a regular basis remains to be seen. While Michael Kesselring has been hampered by injuries and has only managed one assist and a -4 rating in 28 outings over his first year in Buffalo, his under-the-hood numbers still paint him as a preferable third-pairing option to Schenn on the right side. He’s averaging comparable ice time at 13:45 per game and has controlled 48.8% of shot attempts at even strength.
Stanley, though, should be a regular piece. Finding stability on the third pairing has been one of the few hiccups this season in Buffalo, whose top four of Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, Owen Power, and Bowen Byram is comprised entirely of lefties. They’ve been unsuccessful in their pursuit of an impact piece, nearly striking a deal for Blues star righty Colton Parayko, which fell apart when he invoked his no-trade clause.
Drafted 18th overall in 2016, the 27-year-old Stanley isn’t a right-shot option like they wanted, but should easily usurp Jacob Bryson as the de facto third-pairing lefty. His 6’7″, 231-lb frame has sometimes made him a frustrating defender to watch – with so much potential there, he’s only hit 100 hits once in his career, and has consistently been underwater on the possession front due to his subpar skating mechanics.
This season, though, the pending UFA has found a new gear. His nine goals in 59 games are nearly twice what he had in five previous NHL seasons to date, and he’s added 12 assists for 21 points. That’s a career high by a wide margin and has him seventh on the Jets in scoring, only trailing Josh Morrissey among defenders. An unsustainable 12.2% shooting rate is fueling it, but it’s worth noting that only one of those points, an assist, has come on the power play. All of that production is coming at even strength, where he’s seen his minutes boosted and is now averaging a career-high 17:12 per game.
Assuming a regular group of Dahlin, Byram, Samuelsson, Power, Stanley, and Kesselring, Buffalo will enter its first postseason appearance in 15 years with a ridiculously imposing defense core averaging 6’4″ and 218 lbs.
Image courtesy of Terrence Lee-Imagn Images.
More to come…
Jets Recall Isaak Phillips
Earlier this evening the Winnipeg Jets announced that Isaak Phillips has been recalled from AHL Manitoba. No corresponding transaction was required. He has jumped right into action tonight against Tampa Bay, as both Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn are out on the eve of tomorrow’s trade deadline.
Phillips, a 24-year-old defenseman, has been back and forth at times throughout the campaign as a depth option. Prior to tonight, it had led to just two games dressed with the Jets this year, from January 19-20. The Ontario native averaged 8:12 between them, not recording any statistics. He was last sent down on February 5.
Standing at 6’3″, the lefty was drafted in the fifth round by Chicago in 2020, impressively breaking into the NHL within two years, but eventually becoming passed up by other young defensemen on the roster. He was traded to Winnipeg last January, where he’s spent most time in the AHL with the Moose since. In 83 games across the last two years, Phillips has 27 points.
Set to move out some pieces after nearly a decade of consistent playoff appearances, Winnipeg could keep Phillips around for a longer period than normal as a seventh defender. The Moose are ranked 20th in the AHL, and as they offer familiar names such as Kale Clague and Ville Heinola, Phillips is the top option to fill in when needed without disrupting things down the ladder. Signed through next year before hitting restricted free agency, he’ll look to make an impact in a bid to take on a larger role with the team in 2026-27.