BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — If the Sabres didn’t make the power move some had wished for at the NHL trade deadline, they were able to strengthen the forward lines Friday by acquiring Jordan Greenway from the Minnesota Wild for a pair of draft picks.

Buffalo gave up the 2023 second-round pick it received in the Jack Eichel trade, and a fifth-round pick in 2024, for the 6-foot-6, 231-pound Greenway, who will become the heaviest forward on the Sabres’ roster.

“Well I’m excited about the obvious, which is the physical attributes,” Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said. “As I watch him very closely over the last number of weeks, I just think we have a player here that we don’t have currently. A player that, he adds physicality, grit, is a presence. He can hold onto pucks. He’s talented where he can make plays and get up and down the ice, but also that frame and his ability to hang onto pucks and just have a physical presence. I think it’s an important addition for us that something I’ve been thinking about for a while and was hoping to add.”

The 26-year-old Greenway, a native of Canton, N.Y., is signed through the 2024-25 season with a $3 million annual salary cap figure. He has 112 points (36 goals, 76 assists) in 372 NHL games, but has struggled to find the scoresheet this season with two goals and five assists in 45 appearances.

Greenway played for Sabres coach Don Granato, and alongside All-Star center Tage Thompson, in the U.S. National Team Development Program. They won a gold medal together at the 2015 IIHF U-18 World Championship. The Sabres hope that familiarity revives Greenway’s offensive game, while he adds some needed size and toughness to the lineup. Greenway also is a former teammate of Tyson Jost, the current fourth-line center Buffalo claimed off waivers earlier this season.

“I have a ton of trust and faith in Don Granato and his coaching ability,” Adams said. “One of his greatest strengths is his passion for players and the relationships that he builds, and he was pounding the table on this one.”

Along with the trade acquisition of defenseman Riley Stillman on Monday, the Sabres added two useful pieces without depleting the current lineup, or the club’s pool of prospects. Adams held to his conviction in not giving up prime assets for any of the high-profile players that could’ve bolstered Buffalo’s chances of making the playoffs. Championship aspirations over the long term were prioritized over the immediate desire to end the longest postseason drought in NHL history.

Additional deadline moves

With Greenway coming in, Buffalo traded forward Rasmus Asplund to Nashville for a 2025 seventh-round pick. Asplund had been a healthy scratch in 11 of the past 17 games.

The Sabres also acquired minor-league defenseman Austin Strand from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Chase Priskie. That followed another minor move Thursday when the Sabres exchanged minor-league forward Anders Bjork for Orchard Park native Carson Gicewicz, and Wednesday night’s trade of unsigned goaltender prospect Erik Portillo for a third-round pick from the Los Angeles Kings.

I was really, really hoping to come into this deadline and make a deal for Portillo,” Adams said. “You guys know the situation, it became clear to me I was told this was not a market that he felt he wanted to play in and didn’t necessarily see a pathway to the NHL. And you guys understand, like, we want players that want to be here and players that want to compete every day to be National Hockey League players. So it was really important to try to find a way to recoup that asset, which fortunately we were able to do. It’s a great deal for LA, they’re getting a really talented goalie who’s a very good prospect.”

You can watch Kevyn Adams’ full post-trade deadline press conference above.