NHL Trade Rumors: Buffalo Sabres acquire Marco Scandella from Wild
The Buffalo Sabres have acquired Marco Scandella and Jason Pominville from the Minnesota Wild. They’ll be sending Marcus Foligno, Tyler Ennis, and a draft pick.
The Buffalo Sabres have been aggressive so far this offseason addressing their blue line. They are expected to be among the most active teams in free agency. And, according to Bob McKenzie, they’re active on the trade market. The Sabres have reportedly acquired Marco Scandella and Jason Pominville from the Minnesota Wild. In exchange, they’ll give up Tyler Ennis, Marcus Foligno and a draft pick.
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The Sabres continue to attack their blue line issues head on. Scandella is a quality defenseman who should slot into their second pairing nicely. They still need to address their top pairing, but that’s something the Sabres are expected to address in free agency. Pominville is someone the team is familiar with and can provide solid scoring. Scandella averaged over 18 minutes a game last season and has been a 20 minutes a game defenseman as recently as the 2015-16 season.
Minnesota gets some much needed cap space. They have the defensive depth required to overcome the loss of Scandella and the forward depth to make up for Pominville. Ennis is an intriguing piece who could be a solid fit with the Wild. He’s a talented forward, but after consecutive 40 point seasons in 2013-14 and 2014-15, he has just 24 points in 89 games over the last two seasons. Foligno had 23 points in 80 games last season, tying his career high.
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Scandella has a $4 million cap hit with three seasons left on his contract. Pominville has a $5.6 million cap hit and is scheduled to be a free agent after the 2018-19 season. Ennis has a $4.6 million cap hit in each of the next two seasons. Foligno is currently a restricted free agent.