The Buffalo Sabres acquired defenseman Henrik Tallinder from the New Jersey Devils on Sunday in exchange for minor-league forward Riley Boychuk. With the trade, the Sabres bring a familiar face back to Buffalo while the Devils remain active early on in this off-season.
Tallinder spent the first seven seasons of his NHL career with Buffalo before signing with the Devils as a free agent in 2010. In 614 career games, the 34-year-old Swede has 26 goals and 134 points. During Tallinder's time in Buffalo, the Sabres went to consecutive Eastern Conference Finals in 2006 and 2007, coming within one win of advancing to the 2006 Stanley Cup Final. That 2005-2006 season, Tallinder set personal bests with Buffalo, posting six goals and 21 points. The following year, the Sabres captured the Presidents' Trophy for the first time in franchise history.
For New Jersey, the move continues an active off-season that started with a bang when the club acquired goaltender Cory Schneider from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for the ninth pick in the 2013 Draft, which took place at the Prudential Center in Newark. Days later, the Devils announced that forwards Patrik Elias and Dainius Zubrus had re-signed with the club. Then, on the opening day of free agency, the club bolstered their forwards by signing Ryane Clowe, Michael Ryder and Rostislav Olesz to multi-year deals.
Buffalo's acquisition of Tallinder comes just one day after the club announced the signings of defensemen Alexander Sulzer and Drew Bagnall. The Sabres also added another veteran defenseman on Draft Day when they acquired Jamie McBain from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for the 35th pick in the Draft and defenseman Andrej Sekera.
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