Tanner Pearson Traded to the Buffalo Sabres

The Winnipeg Jets snuck in one more trade before the NHL Trade Deadline, but it didn’t officially get announced until nearly an hour after.

The Buffalo Sabres traded a 2026 seventh-round draft pick to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Tanner Pearson.

Pearson has 13 points (7G, 6A) in 52 games played with the Jets this season. He’s mostly been utilized in the bottom-six on a line with Cole Koepke and Morgan Barron, but injuries changed some of the linemates he saw this season.

This move shores up depth for the Winnipeg Jets and allows them to have more recalls from the Manitoba Moose.

Across Pearson’s 14 NHL seasons, he’s posted 325 points (157G, 168A) in 774 NHL games. Since being drafted 30th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Pearson has suited up for the Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, Vegas Golden Knights, and the Winnipeg Jets.

Pearson joined Winnipeg in the 2025 offseason as a veteran depth piece on a one-year deal worth $1 million. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2025-26 season and will likely test the market again this offseason.

The 33-year-old has enjoyed success as a bottom-six forward and has been traded a few times prior to this. He joins a red-hot Buffalo Sabres team looking to go on a deep Stanley Cup Playoff run, and his veteran experience will play a significant factor in that run.

Pearson has played in 59 Stanley Cup Playoff games, posting 24 points (9G, 15A) in that time. Pearson was also a part of the 2014 Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup-winning team.