Elliotte Friedman wonders if Buffalo will keep Michael Kesselring, but if not then the Toronto Maple Leafs have to find a way to add him to their blueline ASAP.
Michael Kesselring may be on the outs in Buffalo given their logjam of premium defenders, and as a right handed shot he is going to have his fair share of suitors. The Toronto Maple Leafs could absolutely use a two-way force like him on the blueline and could acquire him via trade or offer sheet to boost their lineup.
Kesselring, 26, is a towering player at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds who offers both offensive and defensive upside. He struggled to find time this season with Buffalo but did manage 50 points over his past two seasons with Arizona/Utah while also adding 126 blocks and 193 hits in 16:51 TOI.
Buffalo can't afford to keep Michael Kesselring and that opens the floodgates for other teams to pounce
He's a restricted free agent this summer and with the Sabres needing to find money for Alex Tuch, as well as Bowen Byram needing an extension shortly and only about $12-million to work with in general; there may not be a spot. Kesselring makes only $1.4-million so signing him to a bigger deal won't really break your bank.
According to Elliotte Friedman as well, Kesselring is an eye to watch given Buffalo's depth on the backend:
The interesting one there...is Michael Kesselring; he was far down the depth chart; as a right shot, I think they'll have no problem finding somewhere for him to play if they decide to do it.
Analyst Michael Mazzei heaped praise upon Kesselring as a player who could help out teams given his two-way ability and propensity to get nasty when the time calls for it:
He has begun to emerge as a dependable two-way threat with a booming shot, solid defensive play, good puck-moving skills, quality skating, and a willingness to jump into the play when needed.
Kesselring also enjoys doing all of the dirty work as he is willing to lay the body, block shots, and is not afraid to drop the gloves if necessary.
He also brings a new dynamic to Toronto's blueline which is someone with a hard shot. He averaged nearly 69 MPH on his shots with his hardest reaching nearly 95 MPH. For contrast, that would have been sixth highest on Toronto this year and his average was 12 MPH harder than Toronto's overall shot speed metrics; they need a fireballer.
The Maple Leafs need to do whatever they can to make sure they add Kesselring
But as good as he can be and enticing he is at only 26 still, he's going to need a new contract but doesn't have a lot of leeway as to where he could play. He's not an AHL level talent, and that opens the door for teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs.
They have a couple options which include presenting an offer sheet to him and seeing if the Sabres are willing to match.
Toronto can give him a maximum of $4.7-million per season which is triple what he currently makes, and would eat heavily into Buffalo's cap space. Toronto has roughly $22-million to work with and would only need to give up at most a second-rounder in 2027 to do it.
Or, Toronto can simply try and see if Buffalo would trade his signing rights away. It probably won't take more than a mid-level pick or prospect to bring him in and it prevents Toronto from potentially overspending to sign him and allow for a more reasonable deal for John Chayka.
Kesselring offers much more upside both offensively and defensively than Simon Benoit and Philippe Myers, is just reaching his prime, and is being pushed away from a division rival through no fault of his own - that has to give him some motivation.
Now may be the time to strike for the Maple Leafs because Kesselring isn't just an option but potentially an under the radar one who helps complete the blueline in 2026-27.
Do you think Michael Kesselring is a fit with the Toronto Maple Leafs?
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