- Sabres acquired Olen Zellweger from Anaheim to help replace Bowen Byram
- The 22-year-old signed a three-year, $9.3 million deal and sees a clear opening in Buffalo
- Read below for Zellweger’s take on the trade and where he fits on the blue line
Olen Zellweger already sounds like a guy who found the right room.
The Sabres acquired the 22-year-old defenseman from Anaheim on June 26, sending forward prospect Anton Wahlberg and a 2026 second-round pick the other way. Buffalo made the move three days after shipping Bowen Byram to Chicago, and Zellweger walked in seeing a clear path to minutes.
Here is how the Sabres framed the addition:
Zellweger talked about what he brings to one of the league’s faster blue lines.
“I think I provide two-way play,” Zellweger said. “I think I have a lot of speed, a lot of offensive instinct. I’m really looking forward to playing with a lot of the high-skill, high-speed players that the lineup has right now.”
Catch Zellweger’s full introduction:
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen pointed to the obvious reason Buffalo targeted him, saying Zellweger carries a lot of the same qualities Byram did. Zellweger did not shy away from the comparison.
“I have a similar skill set to Bowen,” said Zellweger, who has 16 goals and 51 points in 164 NHL games.
The speed is real. Zellweger clocked 162 speed bursts between 20 and 22 mph last season, fifth-most among NHL defensemen behind Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Jake Sanderson and Matthew Schaefer. He put up 22 points in a career-high 76 games with the Ducks.
There is a built-in landing spot next to Owen Power, a former Team Canada teammate at the World Juniors and World Championship. The two already know how to read off each other.
Buffalo locked him up on July 1 with a three-year, $9.3 million contract as a restricted free agent.
