Sabres trade Lyubushkin to Ducks for draft pick

The Anaheim Ducks acquired defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin from the Buffalo Sabres for a 2025 fourth-round pick, the teams announced Friday.

Lyubushkin, 29, tallied 14 points in 68 games last season. He's entering the final season of a two-year deal signed in 2022 that carries a $2.75-million cap hit.

The Ducks acquired the fourth-round pick in the trade that sent John Klingberg to the Minnesota Wild prior to the deadline.

"We are excited to add Ilya to our blue line as we targeted another defenseman for the right side this offseason," Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said in a statement. "He is a big, physical, hard-nosed player that can kill penalties and will make us harder to play against."

Lyubushkin ranked second on the Sabres in shorthanded minutes and blocked shots, as well as third in hits.

Before signing with the Sabres last summer, Lyubushkin spent four seasons with the Arizona Coyotes. They traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2022, where he made his postseason debut in a first-round loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The 29-year-old right-shot defenseman has accrued five goals and 39 points in 279 contests, racking up 130 penalty minutes in the process.

Arizona signed Lyubushkin as an undrafted free agent in 2018 after a six-year career in the KHL with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.

Buffalo had nine NHL defensemen under contract prior to trading Lyubushkin. The Sabres added right-shot blue-liners Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton in free agency this summer.

Anaheim signed rugged defenseman Radko Gudas to a three-year, $12-million contract on the opening day of free agency. Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov - two of the team's top prospects - turn pro this season after leading their respective junior leagues in scoring among blue-liners.

The Ducks have $16.6 million in cap space after the trade, according to CapFriendly.

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