Early on Friday morning, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun indicated that the Senators and GM Bryan Murray were hopeful of completing a trade of young goaltender Robin Lehner prior to the start of the 2015 NHL Draft.
It seems those hopes very quickly became reality, as shortly thereafter, TSN NHL Insider Bob McKenzie reported that Lehner was dealt, along with forward David Legwand, to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for the 21st-overall pick in the first-round.
TSN's Darren Dreger corroborated the report shortly thereafter.
In Lehner, the Sabres and new head coach Dan Bylsma get their de fact goalie of the future. Legwand was simply a throw-in as the Senators were desperate to rid themselves of his $3 million cap hit.
Lehner failed to take advantage of the opportunities given to him in Ottawa and ultimately missed a large chunk of last season after suffering a head injury.
At 23, the former second-round pick still seems to have ample room for growth and development. With the Sabres seemingly set to field a very young team in 2015-16, it wouldn't be surprising to see Murray and Bylsma throw him right into the fire and let him learn on the fly.
Considering his confidence already seems to be an issue, that could be a potentially questionable proposition, but if nothing else changes between now and the beginning of the season, the Sabres will have Lehner paired with either career back-up Chad Johnson or the uber-disappointing Anders Lindback, who failed to live up to expectations as Kari Lehtonen's net-mate in Dallas.
For Ottawa, the trade of a potential-filled, but ultimately disappointing young player probably could not have turned out any better.
They jettisoned a contract they were desperate to part ways with and added a first-round pick - kudos to Bryan Murray on making the best of a good, if uncertain, situation.
UPDATE 10:30 AM: McKenzie has confirmed the move.
BUF-OTT trade call done. Official: Lehner and Legwand for 21st overall pick. BUF takes all of Legwand's contract. #TSN
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 26, 2015
