On Monday, the Pittsburgh Penguins traded defensemen Caleb Jones and Daniel Laatsch to the Buffalo Sabres for blueliner Ryan Johnson.
Buffalo Gets Two Defensemen in Three-Player Swap
The Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins finalized a two-for-one roster swap involving three defensemen. Buffalo sent Ryan Johnson to Pittsburgh in exchange for Caleb Jones and Daniel Laatsch. ET.
Buffalo secured two left-shot defensemen to bolster its defensive depth as management worked quickly following a matinee game.
Pittsburgh cleared space and dropped two players to reach 48 contracts of the 50 allotted per year. Pittsburgh previously had a crowded left-shot defensive group in the minor leagues featuring Ilya Solovyov, Jones, Owen Pickering, Jake Livanavage, Laatsch, and AHL-contracted Maleek McGowan fighting for time in Wilkes-Barre.
Rasmus Dahlin Injury Triggers Immediate Need for Sabres
The timing of the trade coincided with an injury to Buffalo captain Rasmus Dahlin. Dahlin sustained an upper-body injury during a 5-3 afternoon victory over the Florida Panthers and was ruled day-to-day. He will not travel to Montreal, which meant Buffalo required an immediate lineup answer.
Jones brings NHL experience to fill that gap. The 29-year-old veteran has appeared in 255 career NHL games across stints with the Edmonton Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, and Pittsburgh Penguins, registering 14 goals and 42 assists for 56 points at the highest level.
The Sabres entered the matchup with a 2-2-0 record before moving to 3-3-0 overall. Mattias Samuelsson and Olen Zellweger both dealt with injuries before returning to the ice. Dahlin’s sudden absence changed the bench rhythm and immediately placed the spotlight on the defensive trade.
Ryan Johnson Seeks Fresh Start in Pittsburgh
For Johnson, the trade marks the end of his tenure with the organization that drafted him 31st overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. The 25-year-old stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 195 pounds, bringing a defensive-oriented profile that skates well. He spent four seasons at the University of Minnesota before turning professional, where he recorded nine goals and 50 assists for 59 points across 143 collegiate games. Prior to college, he played for the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede and represented the United States at the 2021 World Junior Championship, collecting four points in seven games as Team USA won the gold medal.
At the professional level, Johnson split his time between Buffalo and the AHL’s Rochester Americans. He has collected seven assists across 47 career NHL games, with all seven coming during his rookie campaign in 2023-24 when he played a career-high 41 games. He spent the vast majority of the subsequent two seasons in the AHL, playing only three NHL games in each of the 2024-25 and 2025-26 campaigns. Last season in Rochester, he appeared in 56 games and totaled 19 points on five goals and 14 assists.
Having begun the 2026-27 campaign with Rochester, Johnson logged four appearances and a plus-2 rating.
Prospect Profiles and Minor League Assignments
The transaction sends players who were primarily positioned in the minor leagues back to new organizations. Laatsch, a 24-year-old standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 193 pounds, was selected by Pittsburgh in the seventh round, 215th overall, of the 2021 NHL Draft after playing four seasons at the University of Wisconsin. He made his professional debut with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers in October 2025, scoring 11 points with three goals and eight assists across 29 games. He also played 10 games for the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last season, dishing out three assists, though he had yet to appear in the first three games of the current season.
Jones started the current campaign with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, recording three assists in four games. Across his time in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors, Colorado Eagles, Ontario Reign, and Penguins, Jones has accumulated 87 points via 13 goals and 74 assists over 186 appearances. He also posted three points in four games to start this season in the minors.
Both Jones and Laatsch join the Sabres organization with expectations of providing coverage as the team handles early-season injuries.