The Bruins may have more defensemen than they can comfortably fit, and that’s putting Henri Jokiharju on the move watch as training camp approaches.
According to RG’s James Murphy, Jokiharju is one of two Boston defenders drawing interest, along with Mason Lohrei. Murphy reported Monday that the Bruins are open to moving the 27-year-old, who is about to begin a two-year, $6 million contract. He also noted that Lohrei carries more appeal around the league because he’s younger and entering the final year of a two-year, $6.4 million deal with a $3.2 million AAV.
For Jokiharju, this is the latest turn in a career that’s already taken him from Chicago to Buffalo and now to Boston. The Blackhawks made him a first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, then shipped him to the Sabres in July 2019 for prospect Alex Nylander. Buffalo later moved him to the Bruins in March 2025 for a fourth-round pick.
The 6-foot defenseman never fully matched that draft billing, largely because his game has been so uneven, particularly in his own end. Still, he’s carved out a reputation as a serviceable NHL blue-liner who can handle third-pair minutes. HockeyStats.com has him in the 59th percentile in wins above replacement among defensemen using a three-year weighted average.
Last season, Jokiharju put up 15 points, scoring two goals and adding 13 assists, in 41 games for Boston. He also missed more than a month with an injury and spent time as a healthy scratch.
If the Bruins do move him, the return probably won’t be much more than the fourth-round pick they used to get him from Buffalo last year.
In Buffalo, meanwhile, the Sabres appear to have settled one of their own depth questions. The team announced a one-year, $900,000 extension for Zach Metsa last week after his first NHL season featured a few eye-catching moments.
That deal looks like a vote of confidence in the 27-year-old, who is expected to battle Dennis Gilbert and maybe Ryan Johnson for the No. 7 defenseman spot during camp. It also likely means Buffalo is done shopping for another blueliner before the season starts.
Unless injuries change the picture, the Sabres’ opening-night defense group is expected to feature Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, Owen Power, Olen Zellweger, Louis Crevier and Conor Timmins.
Metsa, who has been nicknamed the “PDO God” because of some favorable underlying numbers, finished his long-awaited rookie year with six points, including two goals and four assists, in 43 games. He also posted a plus-16 rating despite the modest offense.
The former Quinnipiac standout played a straightforward, no-nonsense style that earned the trust of Sabres coach Lindy Ruff. At 5-foot-9 and 198 pounds, and with limited offensive upside, Metsa probably profiles as a depth defenseman for the long haul. But Buffalo’s structure seems built to keep him in that lane, especially with prospects like Daxon Rudolph and Radim Mrtka in the system.
That could all change if injuries start hitting the blue line, but for now the Sabres look set.
In Other News...
Colten Ellis Has A Real Chance To Change Buffalos Goalie Plans
Training camp is about to put the Sabres goaltending picture under a spotlight, and Colten Ellis suddenly sits in the middle of it. Buffalo already has three netminders on the roster, with Ellis joining Alex Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and the young goalie is arriving with a chance to make his case after finishing last season with a winning record. At 25, he is the youngest of the group, which makes the next few weeks about more than just reps and preseason work. It could shape how the Sabres view their crease for the present and the future.
Ellis is also at a crossroads because his performance could influence more than playing time. Buffalo still has to sort through its rotation plans while keeping an eye on looming free agency for both Ellis and Lyon, and the organizations wider goalie search adds another layer of pressure to every camp session. If Ellis takes advantage of the opportunity, he could force the Sabres to rethink what they want from the position and possibly alter the way they approach the season ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Are Setting A Brutal Standard For These Sabres
The Sabres are coming off a season that should have raised expectations in Buffalo. They finished first in the Atlantic Division in 2025-26 and got through the first round of the playoffs, only to run into Montreal in the second round and come up short. Now the Canadiens are back with few roster changes for 2026-27, which leaves Buffalo staring at a familiar benchmark and a division rival that looks built to keep asking the same questions.
For the Sabres, the path to getting past Montreal starts with areas that have to improve, especially in goal. The gap is not just about chasing the Canadiens in the standings or trying to match them shift for shift, but proving Buffalo can handle a team that has already shown it can stand in the way when the games matter most. If that matchup ends the same way again, the pressure to shake up the roster is going to get a lot harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Face A Reality Check With Key Regression Candidates
Peyton Krebs, Jason Zucker and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen all come with a little more uncertainty than the Sabres would prefer heading into 2026-27, especially after each flashed enough last season to make the picture look a bit brighter than it may really be. Krebs value was tied to unusual usage, Zucker is at the stage of his career where managing his workload matters as much as producing, and Luukkonen still has to show the kind of consistency Buffalo has chased from him for a while now.
For the Sabres, the concern is not whether those players can help, but whether last year already represented the high end of what they can reasonably expect. Krebs may have to settle into a much lighter role, Zuckers impact could shrink with age, and Luukkonen is under added scrutiny as the team keeps searching for stability in net after its offseason pursuit of Connor Hellebuyck. [Read more 🡒]