The Buffalo Sabres have acquired defenseman Michael Kesselring and forward Josh Doan from the Utah Mammoth in exchange for JJ Peterka, the team announced Thursday.
Kesselring, 25, is coming off his second full-time NHL season in which he played all 82 games and had 29 points (7+22) and a plus-4 rating. Utah owned a 53.2-percent share of shot attempts and a 56.4-percent share of goals with Kesselring on the ice at 5-on-5; the latter mark led club defensemen.
The 6-foot-5, right-shot defenseman fills a need on Buffalo’s defense corps, which currently features a wealth of left-shot defensemen in Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, and Mattias Samuelsson along with Bowen Byram, who is scheduled to hit restricted free agency.
Kesselring also brings an element of physicality, having fought seven times over the last two seasons.
“One of our priorities as we work through this offseason is making our team more competitive and tougher to play against," Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said. "The additions of Michael and Josh will help us tremendously in both of those categories and I am excited to see them in a Sabres uniform soon.
"Michael fits the mold of the right-handed defensemen we have been looking for, and we are thrilled he brings both size and compete. We believe he will help add balance to our blue line while elevating the rest of the D corps. Josh is a player that has shown the ability to win at multiple levels and brings great leadership pedigree to our organization. He’s a strong two-way player who we believe will be able to provide versatility to our group.”
