Three Teams Linked to Buffalo Sabres Defenseman as Trade Rumours Heat Up
The Buffalo Sabres have been linked to some big moves this season, and now it appears trade speculation is heating up around Henri Jokiharju.
This season hasn't been a good one for the Buffalo Sabres, as they expected to compete for a Stanley Cup Playoffs spot, but now find themselves likely to be sellers ahead of the trade deadline.
We've already seen trade speculation centred on players like Dylan Cozens, Owen Power and Bowen Byram, and now, it appears as though 25-year old Henri Jokiharju is also drawing interest on the trade market with two weeks before the 2025 deadline.
According to a recent report, there's plenty of interest, with Sabre Noise linking Jokiharju to three teams: the Vancouver Canucks, his former team the Chicago Blackhawks and the Washington Capitals, who are shaping up as a Stanley Cup favourite in the Eastern Conference this season.
The former first-round pick hasn't been great this season, with just 1 goal and 4 points in 39 games played this season, but after an impressive Four Nations tournament for Finland, he's on the radar of many teams in the NHL.
This off-season, Jokiharju is an unrestricted free agent, and after a career high of 20 points for Buffalo during the 2023/24 campaign, if he can find himself in the right situation, it's easy to see him blossoming into a very good defenseman at the NHL level.
At this point in time, it makes sense for Buffalo to get back anything they can from a UFA like Jokiharju, so while we might not see someone like Cozens or Power on the move, for the future and the present of the team, it would make sense if they can land some future assets for a 25-year old that's unlikely to remain with the team beyond this season.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Barrett Hayton | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Pontus Holmberg | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Robert Thomas | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Tage Thompson | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Pavel Buchnevich | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Sean Couturier | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Drew Doughty | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Matvei Michkov | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Zachary Werenski | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Pierre-Luc Dubois | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Jason Zucker | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Jakob Chychrun | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Jack Hughes | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Ryan McLeod | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Owen Tippett | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Matthew Boldy | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Leo Carlsson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 56 | 39 | 14 | 3 | 81 | |
Capitals | 55 | 36 | 11 | 8 | 80 | |
Oilers | 55 | 34 | 17 | 4 | 72 | |
Stars | 55 | 35 | 18 | 2 | 72 | |
Golden Knights | 56 | 33 | 17 | 6 | 72 | |
Panthers | 57 | 34 | 20 | 3 | 71 | |
Hurricanes | 56 | 33 | 19 | 4 | 70 | |
Wild | 56 | 33 | 19 | 4 | 70 | |
Maple Leafs | 55 | 33 | 20 | 2 | 68 | |
Avalanche | 57 | 33 | 22 | 2 | 68 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||