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Penguins Could Find a Steal as Sabres Look to Move Defenseman
The Pittsburgh Penguins could land themselves a new defenseman if reports that the Buffalo Sabres hope to buy out defenseman Mattias Samuelsson prove correct.
It's going to be a summer of change for the Pittsburgh Penguins under general manager Kyle Dubas, who has already made a notable switch behind the bench.
He dismissed longtime head coach Mike Sullivan after nearly 10 years on the job and a pair of Stanley Cup wins, but he has failed to get the Penguins back to the postseason in each of the last 3 years.
Taking his place is former New York Rangers assistant coach Dan Muse, and joining his staff is former 2x Stanley Cup winner Nick Bonino.
While Dubas has already said that he's more likely to make additions to the team via the trade market instead of free agency, the Penguins could soon have the chance to land another component for their blue line.
Per a recently released report from analyst Frank Seravalli, the Buffalo Sabres are looking to shed defenseman Mattias Samuelsson.
Recently, The Athletic's Matthew Fairburn wrote that the Sabres would like to move on from Samuelsson due to his failure to live up to his contract.
Samuelsson hasn't lived up to the contract he signed. He's struggled to stay healthy and struggled when he's been healthy. Even after being named an alternate captain this season, Samuelsson got off to a slow start and was at the center of one of the team's most disappointing moments of the season when nobody stepped in to defend Tage Thompson after a dirty hit from Stefan Noesen.
He has 5 years remaining on his contract with an AAV (average annual value) of $4,285,714. He had 14 points (4G, 10A) in 62 games this year with Buffalo.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 22 | 93 ANSWERS Penguins Could Find a Steal as Sabres Look to Move Defenseman Would Mattias Samuselsson be a good fit on the Penguins' blue line? | ||
| Yes | 59 | 63.4 % |
| No | 34 | 36.6 % |
| List of polls | ||