The Buffalo Sabres added more size to their forward group Friday, trading for Minnesota Wild winger Jordan Greenway in exchange for a 2023 second-round pick and 2024 fifth-round pick.
Greenway, who is 6-foot-6, is a defense-first forward with a physical edge who can complement skilled players around him. The 26-year-old had a career-best season in 2021-22, with 10 goals and 27 points in 62 games but has struggled to produce offensively for much of this year (two goals and seven points in 45 games).
He should get a fresh start with the up-and-coming Sabres, who have prioritized adding young players with term to build the club's future around. Greenway's grit and two-way capabilities bring a different element for Buffalo amid its stable of talented scorers and offer coach Don Granato options on how to fit Greenway into a middle-six role with the team.
Greenway comes in fresh from signing a three-year, $9 million extension with Minnesota in the offseason. That's easy for Buffalo to add financially, and even parting with two picks leaves the Sabres with five in the first three rounds of this upcoming draft.
Meanwhile, the Wild did not retain any salary in Friday's transaction with Buffalo, freeing up essential space for Minnesota to potentially use elsewhere.
The Canton, New York, native is also familiar with some of the Sabres' key personnel already. Greenway was a teammate of Tage Thompson's in the U.S. national team development program in 2014-15 and played for Granato there as well. That background alone should make the Sabres comfortable fitting Greenway into the mix right away.