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Why Sabres traded Michael Kesselring to Sharks, and what draft pick upgrade they got in return originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Buffalo Sabres seemed to be setting up to trade away Michael Kesselring.

On Wednesday, they actually made it happen, sending Kesselring to the San Jose Sharks in a deal that also exchanges draft picks.

Kesselring lasted just a season in Buffalo after coming over from the Utah Mammoth in the JJ Peterka deal (along with Josh Doan).

Now, Kesselring is onto another new team.

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The Sharks announced this deal on their own social media channels on Wednesday afternoon:

• Sharks get: Michael Kesselring, 2026 No. 27 overall pick

• Sabres get: 2026 No. 20 overall pick

The Sabres had already made clear Kesselring was surplus to proceedings, and they get a draft pick upgrade to get rid of him.

Kesselring is just 26, but he was a healthy scratch throughout the postseason aside from one appearance in which he got 4 minutes and 25 seconds.

This season, Kesselring appeared in just 34 regular season games for the Sabres. He had two assists, 38 blocked shots and 25 hits.

Buffalo rarely gave him a big role, and even in the games Kesselring played, he averaged 13 minutes and 24 seconds of ice time.

The Sabres couldn’t find a use for Kesselring, and so the best they could do was get a nice move up in the first round by getting rid of him.

The Sharks, a team needing defensive help, decided to take a chance on the still conceptually in his prime Kesselring.

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