NHL Trade: Sharks & Sabres Pull Off Swap For Michael Kesselring

The San Jose Sharks need to populate their blueline. Badly. They had only two NHL defensemen signed for next season. And the Buffalo Sabres were looking to offload some salary to free up cap space, and move up in the draft. Today's trade addresses both of those issues, as the Sharks have landed Michael Kesselring from Buffalo in exchange for a swap of first-round picks.

WE’VE GOT A TRADE 🔀

Hello Michael Kesselring and 27th overall!

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) June 17, 2026

The Sabres also send their 27th overall pick in this month's Draft to San Jose for the 20th overall pick. 

Buffalo moves up seven spots in the first round, while the Sharks get a much-needed right-shot D-man. They had only left-shots Dmitry Orlov and Sam Dickinson under contract. Mario Ferraro, Vincent Desharnais, John Klingberg & Nick Leddy are all unrestricted free agents. 

Kesselring had a tough year in Buffalo, due to injuries that limited him to just 34 games, and he was never able to get his game going when he was active. 

Why the Sharks are high on Michael Kesselring

The 6'5" physical blueliner is a restricted free agent coming off a $1.4 million AAV. 

“Michael has a big frame with solid two-way ability,” said Sharks GM Mike Grier. “He is a responsible player in the defensive zone with a well-rounded offensive game, and will be a good upgrade for us patrolling the blueline. We’re happy to have him a part of the organization.” 

The Sharks have over $40 million in cap space this summer, so they still have some work to do to get to the salary floor; they're about $12M under, give or take, depending on how much they sign Kesselring for.