File Michael Kesselring alongside Colin Miller, Connor Clifton and Marco Scandella in the collection of forgotten Sabres defensemen. Like the others, Kesselring arrived with the hopes he would solidify Buffalo’s top four as a complimentary piece to the team’s existing defensive foundation. In the end, injuries kept him from establishing himself and he was used sparingly in a disastrous individual season. Now, he’s off to San Jose with the 27th pick in exchange for San Jose’s pick at 20 in the 2026 Draft.
There isn’t too much to say about Kesselring’s one season in Buffalo. He got banged up in training camp and seemingly never recovered. His lack of playing time compounded with his lingering injuries affected his ability to influence the game, causing him to slide down the depth chart. The best case scenario, had he stayed, would have been playing sheltered minutes on the third pair in a rotation with fellow righties Conor Timmins and Zach Metsa. You can understand why he would welcome a change of scenery.
He’ll find himself in a fairly advantageous spot with the Sharks. San Jose has four UFA defensemen and only one blueliner over the age of 22 under contract for next year. While Kesselring wasn’t able to secure the top four role the Sabres would have hoped for when they acquired him, he’ll have a fairly clear path to those minutes next year with the Sharks.
The return for the Sabres looks light on the surface. A mobile right handed defenseman for a measly seven-spot jump in the first round. However, recent drafts show the typical price to move up in the first round is a second round selection. Applying that logic, Kesselring still nets the Sabres the equivalent value of a second round pick, which would have been an acceptable return on its own for a player who contributed so little last year.
For context, there have been several first round pick swaps over the last two drafts. Just two years ago the Sharks gave the Sabres 42 overall to slide up to 11th from 14th. Other relevant trades include Montreal sending 26th overall, the 57th pick and the 198th pick to Montreal in exchange for 21st overall; Chicago dealt picks 20, 54 and 61 to the Islanders for pics 18 and 50; Anaheim traded 31st overall and 58th overall to Toronto for the 23rd pick in 2024; and an almost identical trade went down in 2025 as LA received the 31st and 59th picks from Pittsburgh in exchange for 24th.
There are plenty of other pick swaps to sort through, but the throughline is a second round pick has become the going rate to move up in the first round of the NHL Draft. If you think a second round pick is fair value for Michael Kesselring, there isn’t much left to say. If you expected more, consider this. The Sabres just gained additional pick value in the first round with this trade. Is there any difference in trading Kesselring, 27th overall and Radim Mrtka for an upgrade at forward as opposed to 20th overall and Mrtka? Under different circumstances – specifically one in which Kesselring was healthy for 82 games – the return for the Sabres would have been stronger. Equivalent value to a second round pick isn’t anything to sneeze at.
Jarmo Kekäläinen isn’t loaded with extra draft picks to use in trade negotiations. The Sabres only have four picks this year and lack their 2027 2nd round pick as well. It wouldn’t hurt for Kekäläinen to pull in a few extra picks to keep the pipeline full, but this is a team that climbed well past the stage they’ve been at in recent offseasons. Does adding the 62nd pick do more for Buffalo in trade negotiations compared to the 20th pick? Would that deal – Kesselring for 62 – have looked better? Kesselring isn’t the only trade chip the Sabres could use if they’re desperate to recoup a few selections. For example, a sign-and-trade with Alex Tuch would likely bring the sort of day two pick the Sabres are lacking. More importantly, Buffalo’s improved standing in the first round makes the next seven days that much more exciting to track.
Two in the Box 