Scoring Buffalo Sabers Trade for Ducks’ Olen Zellweger – Hockey Writers – Buffalo Sabers

The Buffalo Sabers continue to work ahead of tonight’s NHL Draft. Earlier this week, they sent defenseman Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks for the fourth pick in the 2026 draft. Then today, they acquired Olen Zellweger from the Anaheim Ducks for a draft pick and prospect. Here are the full details:

The Sabers get:

Ducks get:

• Anton Wahlberg
• 2026 second round pick (45th overall)

Zellweger fell out of favor with the Ducks late this season, so it’s no surprise they traded him. He is an RFA due to a minimum salary increase this summer, and the Sabers are getting someone with the ability to break out and restore what they lost in Byram.

Good Bet by the Sabers

On a superficial level, this trade makes a lot of sense for the Sabres. Byram was an active, mobile defender who fit well into the team’s second team. Zellweger hasn’t reached the level Byram has, but there’s reason to believe he has another gear to reach.

The strength of Zellweger’s game is his mobility and offensive ability. He is very efficient in transition, excels at finding offensive space by handling the puck and getting out of the defensive zone cleanly. He’s not afraid to get the puck out with his skating ability, but he also gets out of the defense with his passing.

Zellweger is also a great presenter. He ranks in the 99th percentile in fastball between 18-20 mph and 20-22 mph. That should fit well with the rushing game the Sabers like to play under head coach Lindy Ruff.

Aside from his skating, Zellweger can be creative in the offensive field. He’s not afraid to shoot the puck, and he knows how to set up shooting opportunities for his teammates. What worries him moving forward is how he will defend himself.

Zellweger is only 5-foot-10 and struggled to find a defensive position. He’s also not the best run defender, which is surprising given his swing ability. That means he may have some room to improve his pass defense, though. The good news for Zellweger is that he has to start in a protected third baseman role, to keep him away from tough defensive minutes.

The Sabers will need to re-sign Zellweger in the coming days, and it will be interesting to see what number that will be. Evolving Hockey signed him to a seven-year contract with a cap hit of $6.132 million. That’s a small amount for what he is right now, so it wouldn’t surprise me if the Sabers chose to bridge him.

But even if the Sabers go long with Zellweger on an extension, he’ll end up at half the price of what it would cost to extend Byram, who will be an RFA next season and has no interest in signing with the Sabers. The Sabers didn’t pay much to get him, and he’ll likely fill Byram’s role somewhere down the road, if not sooner. All around solid work from GM Jarmo Kekalainen as well.

Sabers grade: B+

Ducks Bring Back Some Goods

It is clear that the Ducks were not willing to pay Zellweger. They have to take care of Pavel Mintyukov, Cutter Gauthier, and Leo Carlsson, all RFA’s looking for a salary cap to raise this offseason. They also need to add a few right defensemen to their roster, so the money will tighten up quickly.

GM Pat Verbeek did well to release a value man they would not have kept. A second-round pick is almost like a shot in the dark, but Wahlberg looks like a good prospect. He finished with nine goals and 38 points in 68 games for the Rochester Americans as a 20-year-old this season and seems to be trending in the right direction: