Buffalo Sabres Trade Sam Lafferty to Chicago Blackhawks

Buffalo, New York — The Buffalo Sabres have traded forward Sam Lafferty to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the team announced today. Lafferty, 30, played 60 games for the Sabres last season, scoring four goals and seven points, while posting a minus-15 rating.

Lafferty signed a two-year, $4 million contract with the Sabres as a free agent after enjoying a career year with the Vancouver Canucks. However, he struggled throughout the 2024-25 season and became a healthy scratch as early as October.

The Sabres had restructured their fourth line, acquiring Lafferty and Nicolas Aube-Kubel on the same day. Aube-Kubel was subsequently waived and later traded, leaving Beck Malenstyn as the only fourth-liner from that offseason still with the team. Lafferty is familiar with the Blackhawks, having spent parts of two seasons there earlier in his career, playing 97 games combined during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.

In a separate move, the Sabres did not extend a qualifying offer to defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, who has now signed a one-year, $875,000 contract with the Detroit Red Wings. Bernard-Docker, 25, played 15 games for the Sabres after being acquired from the Ottawa Senators before the trade deadline.

Other Sabres developments include the re-signing of defenseman Ryan Johnson to a three-year, $2.325 million contract. Johnson, 23, was set to become a restricted free agent and will earn an average annual value of $775,000. He played most of last season with the Rochester Americans, recording two goals and 13 points in 66 games.

Additionally, Jack Rathbone, Johnson’s defensive partner in Rochester, has also been re-signed to a two-year, two-way contract. Rathbone, 26, made an impression on Amerks coach Mike Leone, who noted the player’s transformation into a solid two-way defender.

Rathbone recorded six goals and 23 points in 67 games with the Amerks last season and earned a call-up to the Sabres, though he did not play. As the Sabres continue to build their roster, Lafferty’s trade marks a significant change as they head into the new season.