Michael Kesselring is moving to the Sharks of San Jose, and Buffalo is getting a first-round pick back in a trade that also shifts both clubs’ position in the next draft. San Jose acquires Kesselring and Buffalo’s 27th overall pick, while Buffalo gets the Sharks’ 20th overall selection.
The deal matters because it changes two rosters and the order of two first-round choices at the same time. Kesselring, 6′5″, is headed to a third NHL team after spending last season with Buffalo, where he had two assists in 34 games.
That is not a small step for a player whose pro path started when Edmonton picked him in the sixth round in 2018. Since entering Bettman’s league, he has picked up 211 penalty minutes, and his career numbers with Arizona/Utah now stand at 12 goals and 43 assists in 190 games.
What Buffalo and San Jose did not spell out was the price of making the swap work. Buffalo moved down from 20th to 27th overall, a seven-slot slide in the first round, while San Jose paid to move up from 27th to 20th and add Kesselring. That kind of trade usually says both sides saw a fit they preferred more than the certainty of waiting for the draft board to fall their way.
For Kesselring, the next stop is another chance to reset his role after a quiet scoring season in Buffalo. For the two clubs, the real answer comes later, when the picks are made and the value of a defenseman plus seven places in the first round can finally be measured on the ice.
