{"id":460072,"date":"2026-02-16T20:01:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T20:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/460072\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T20:01:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T20:01:18","slug":"sabres-trade-target-logan-stanley-the-hockey-writers-buffalo-sabres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/460072\/","title":{"rendered":"Sabres Trade Target: Logan Stanley – The Hockey Writers – Buffalo Sabres"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NHL roster freeze for the Olympic break will be lifted on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 11:59 pm ET, with the NHL Trade Deadline just 12 days away (Friday, Mar. 6). When the NHL resumes action, teams will have to finalize moves<\/a> that either make their team better this season or sell off a few pieces for future success<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With a 32-19-6 (70 points) record and sitting in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Buffalo Sabres are hoping to make the playoffs for the first time since 2011 (the longest playoff drought in the NHL). General Manager (GM) Jarmo Kekalainen has stated that if he makes any moves, they will be to improve his team, and one way for him to do that is to target Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley.<\/p>\n

Logan Stanley\u2019s Impressive Game<\/p>\n

Stanley has size, at 6-foot-7 and 231 pounds. For most of his career, he\u2019s been a third-pairing blueliner who uses his body to his advantage and does not put up a ton of offensive numbers. However, this season, he has nine goals and nine assists through 55 games, the first time in his career that he\u2019s scored more than one goal, and his 18 points are a career high.<\/p>\n

\"LoganWinnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley celebrates his goal against the Nashville Predators (James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

The Sabres\u2019 blue line is already massive with an average height of 6-foot-3, but they need to address their third-pairing, and Stanley would fit perfectly. The team\u2019s top four defensemen are all offensive blueliners, including Rasmus Dahlin, Bowen Byram, Mattias Samuelsson, and Owen Power, but their third pairing does not provide much offense and has been inconsistent all season.<\/p>\n

Between Michael Kesslering, who was the team\u2019s big offseason addition<\/a> last summer, Jacob Bryson, and Zach Metsa, who are all rotating, they have not found much success. Stanley could help provide some steady offense and a bit more physicality. Kesselring, who has had his share of struggles when healthy this season, could also see a rise in production with Stanley beside him. <\/p>\n

Related: 3 Players The Sabres Can Afford To Move After the Olympics<\/a><\/p>\n

The team could also consider rotating Kesselring, Metsa, and Stanley regularly. Kesselring is the preferred player to have in the lineup, but he\u2019s been a healthy scratch a couple of times. <\/p>\n

What Could a Trade Look Like for Logan Stanley?<\/p>\n

Stanley is in the final year of a two-year deal with a $1.25 million cap hit before he becomes an unrestricted free agent (UFA) this offseason. That could drive the price down, as the Jets are reportedly willing to trade him <\/a>rather than sign him to an extension. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what a trade could look like:<\/p>\n

Buffalo Sabres Acquire:<\/p>\n

Winnipeg Jets Acquire:<\/p>\n

Tyson Kozak<\/p>\n

2027 Third-Round Draft Pick<\/p>\n

The Sabres are not trying to make a blockbuster trade that gets everyone\u2019s attention, but this would make their team better right now. Stanley would add the grit and physicality that the blue line is missing, while the team doesn\u2019t give up a ton of assets, which is a big win for the Sabres.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the Jets will be moving out a piece for future assets in a season where they have struggled. Even though they wouldn\u2019t get the scoring depth they need in this trade, they will get a draft pick, plus a 23-year-old center in Kozak, who has shown he can play a role in the NHL.<\/p>\n

The Sabres have a couple of areas of need<\/a> to consider for a playoff run, and they\u2019ll have to retain their core talent. Kekalainen will be actively trying to make his team better, so we\u2019ll soon see what moves they make and where they stand after the Trade Deadline passes.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NHL roster freeze for the Olympic break will be lifted on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 11:59 pm…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434917,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5100],"tags":[23057,1107,229,5133,5,4492,4,1108],"class_list":{"0":"post-460072","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-buffalo-sabres","8":"tag-2026-nhl-trade-deadline","9":"tag-buffalo","10":"tag-buffalo-sabres","11":"tag-buffalosabres","12":"tag-hockey","13":"tag-logan-stanley","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-sabres"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116082094729696561","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}