According to reports, Marco Scandella has been traded to the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres will surely be happy to bag themselves a young defenseman that has proven he can consistently play at the NHL level. In 71 games with the Wild last season, Scandella had four goals and nine assists for 13 points.
The full deal sees Scandella, Jason Pominville and a fourth round in 2018 pick go to the Sabres, for Tyler Ennis, Marcus Foligno and a third round pick in 2018.
Marco Scandella heading to BUF from MIN.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 30, 2017
On #mnwild #sabres trade involving Marco Scandella, I do think Jason Pominville could be in the mix
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) June 30, 2017
No trade call done yet but assuming it proceeds without hiccups, it’s Pominville and Scandella to BUF, Ennis and Foligno to MIN.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 30, 2017
Don't know if $ retained yet, but
Ennis 2 years left at 4.6M
Foligno RFA, made 2.25M
Scandella 3 yrs left at 4M
Pominville 2 yrs left at 5.6— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) June 30, 2017
Marco Scandella Traded to Buffalo Sabres
Over a career that has spanned seven seasons, and 373 total games, Scandella has proved a solid pick-up in the back end. He may not be the most prolific defenseman when contributing to the offense, but he is very solid in the defensive zone.
Scandella has three years remaining on a five-year, $20 million contract given to him by the Minnesota Wild prior to the 2015-16 season. He will see a rise in his base salary over the remaining seasons in this contract but will continue to carry a $4 million cap hit every year.
It is likely that he will be playing in one of the top two pairings with his new organization, much like he did for the majority of the last three and a half seasons in Minnesota. Despite, as stated above, Scandella not being a threat much on the offensive side of the ice, he’s still a suitable player to have on the ice. Scandella has broken the twenty point mark in both 2014-15 and 2015-16, with 23 and 21 points respectively.
Scandella was a second round pick, 55th overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
The Return of Pominville
Jason Pominville, 34, makes his return to Buffalo after being traded to the Wild at the 2013 Trade Deadline. He scored 13 goals and 47 points in 78 games for the Wild last year. With Brian Gionta a pending unrestricted free agent, Pominville adds veteran experience and offence to a young group of Buffalo forward.
Marcus Foligno, 25, has played in six seasons with the Sabres. He scored 13 goals and 23 points in 80 games last year. Foligno has mainly played in a two-way role on the third line. He is the son of former Sabre Mike Foligno, and the brother of Nick Foligno.
Tyler Ennis, 27, is a dimunitve and creative winger. He has faced injury issues in recent years missing 31 games last season, and 49 in 2015-16. Ennis put up just 5 goals and 13 points in 51 games last season.
ST PAUL, MN – OCTOBER 15: Kyle Connor #81 of the Winnipeg Jets and Marco Scandella #6 of the Minnesota Wild skate after the puck during the second period of the game on October 15, 2016 at Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minnesota. The Wild defeated the Jets 4-3. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
