Yesterday, the Buffalo Sabres and Minnesota Wild made a deal. Buffalo sent Marcus Johansson to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Eric Staal. At first, I was confused. However, after I did some research, I like this deal for the Sabres. Last season, Johansson showed some signs of being productive but didn’t play up to level we expected him to. Recording only 30 points (9 G, 21 A), he really wasn’t much of a factor.

When I looked at Staal stats, they were better than I expected. With 47 points (19 G, 28 A), this is a good pickup for Buffalo. Even though he’s getting up there in age, I feel like he can be a reliable player for the Sabres. The team also gets a position they needed, a second line center. Now it’s up to General Manager Kevyn Adams to get more players who can score. I would like to see Buffalo get a player like Tyler Toffoli, Mike Hoffman or Tomas Hertl. It’s not a major pickup but I think Staal will be decent for the Sabres.