Buffalo Sabres Reportedly Trade Robyn Regehr to LA Kings

The Buffalo Sabres' fire sale continued on Monday night, as they reportedly sent defenseman Robyn Regehr to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for two second-round draft picks.

NHL.com (courtesy of TSN's Darren Dreger) has news of the breaking development:

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According to TSN's Darren Dreger, the Kings gave Buffalo two second-round draft picks in exchange for Regehr, 6-foot-3, 225-pound blue-liner who played in the 2004 Stanley Cup Final with the Calgary Flames.

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Let’s take a look at what this means for both teams.

What it Means For the Kings

It’s a move for depth.

Regehr, a 12-year veteran who has two assists on the season and has logged just under 19 minutes on the ice per game, isn’t going to come in and completely propel the defending champs back to the top of the West by himself.

But with Willie Mitchell (likely out for the season) and Matt Greene (about a month away) both sidelined for the foreseeable future, Regehr serves as a valuable player with size, experience and penalty-killing ability who can help patrol the blue line during the Kings’ postseason run.

Moreover, he’s a free agent at season’s end, so this likely serves strictly as a rental more than anything else.

What it Means For the Sabres

It’s a move for the future.

The Sabres currently sit in 13th place in the East with 32 points, and after trading Jordan Leopold and T.J. Brennan, it became clear that they were fully immersed in rebuild move.

Instead of potentially losing Regehr in the offseason for nothing in return, they were able to cut this deal and acquire two potential pieces for the future.

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