One of the late deals made before the NHL Trade Deadline saw the Buffalo Sabres trade defenseman Henri Jokiharju to the Boston Bruins.
In return, the Sabres receive a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
The draft pick originally belonged to the Edmonton Oilers, which the Bruins acquired in the deal that saw Trent Frederic go to Edmonton.
The trade could be in response to the Bruins sending defender Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs on deadline day as well.
This is the second time in Jokiharju’s NHL career that he has been traded. He was sent to the Sabres by the Chicago Blackhawks in July 2023 in the deal that saw Chicago receive forward Alex Nylander.
Jokiharju has been a mainstay on the Buffalo blue line ever since. Last season, he played a career-high 74 games, scoring three goals and 17 assists for 20 points, the highest-scoring season of the Finnish defender’s career.
In 42 games thus far, Jokiharju has notched three goals and three assists for six points, with a plus/minus of +6 while averaging 16:18 of ice time. He hasn’t seen any game action since Feb. 27.
The 25-year-old might not have been having as productive of a season offensively this year, but he arguably had one of the biggest thrills of his career last month. Due to a couple of injuries, Jokiharju was added to the Team Finland roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off. He ended up scoring a goal and playing in all three games as the Finns missed out on playing in the championship game.
It wasn’t the first time Jokiharju has represented his country. He’s played for Suomi in the EuroHockey Tour on multiple occasions, including winning gold with the Finns at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Jokiharju is on a one-year contract, signing a bridge deal with an AAV of $3.1 million this past offseason. He is set to be a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration rights.
Jokiharju was originally taken by the Blackhawks in the first round, 29th overall, of the 2017 NHL Draft.
The Bruins (28-28-8) are seventh in the Atlantic Division, three points back of the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres (24-31-6) are last in the Atlantic with the worst record in the East.
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