The Buffalo Sabres have made their first trade of the day, and they have acquired Wayne Simmonds from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a conditional 5th round pick in 2021.
The pick can be upgraded to a 4th round pick if Buffalo makes the playoffs and Simmonds plays in 10 games.
Devils retain 50 percent of Simmonds' $5M-salary/cap hit. There's no extension in place with Buffalo for the pending UFA but it's a possibility before July 1 depending on how he performs with the Sabres.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 24, 2020
Simmonds has eight goals and 24 points in 61 games this season. He is on an expiring contract and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
It should also be noted that Wayne Simmonds won the Messier Leadership Award last year. Obviously no concern about adding a guy like that to the locker room.
— Buffalo Sabres Stats (@SabresStats) February 24, 2020
The #NJDevils trade Wayne Simmonds to the #Sabres50 for a 5th round pick. Simmonds best value is as a solid net-front powerplay option. Outside of that he won’t move the needle much pic.twitter.com/4aNv8E25zm
— The Point (@ThePointHockey) February 24, 2020
Devils interim coach Alain Nasreddine had a chance to talk to Wayne Simmonds right after he was traded to the Sabres. Wayne is happy he’ll be close to home and wants to do what he can to help get the team into the postseason.
— Abbey Mastracco (@AbbeyMastracco) February 24, 2020
