One Year Later: The First Ilya Lyubushkin Trade

By Thomas Harrington

One year ago today, the Anaheim Ducks acquired defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin in exchange from the Buffalo Sabres for a 2025 NHL fourth round draft pick. The Ducks had acquired the fourth round pick from Minnesota when they traded John Klingberg to them at the trade deadline.

Lyubushkin had signed a two-year deal with Buffalo the previous summer. In his one season with the Sabres, Lyubushkin scored two goals and 14 points in 68 games. The two goals tied his career high, while the 68 games, 12 assists, and 14 points were all career highs for him. Among Buffalo defensemen, he ranked third in games played, assists, and points. He averaged 15:01 of ice-time, good for 11th on the team.

After a disastrous defensive 2022-2023 season, the Ducks were looking to upgrade their blueline. While Lyubushkin wasn’t brought in to be a difference maker, the hope was he would provide the team with better defense than Klingberg had the year before. Any offense from him would be a bonus. The Sabres were looking to move out a defenseman after signing Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton during free agency. Lyubushkin was the odd man out.

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With the Ducks, Lyubushkin played in 55 games and recorded four assists. However, where he provided the most value to the Ducks was serving as a mentor to Pavel Mintyukov. The two Russian defensemen were put together early on in the season and formed an effective pairing. Close to the trade deadline, the Ducks traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2025 third round pick.

With Lyubushkin gone, Clifton played well, averaging 16:33 a night, and scored four goals and 18 points in 79 games. Johnson only played in 50 games but scored three goals before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for a fourth round pick. Together, they more than made up for Lyubushkin’s departure.

A year later, and the Ducks can definitely look at this deal as a win. They got 50+ games out of Lyubushkin and then flipped him for a higher pick in the same draft. More importantly, while his mentorship of Mintyukov can’t be measured, there’s no question that he significantly helped the young defenseman in his rookie season. It will likely be several years before the Sabres know if they’ve gotten an NHL player out of this deal or not. They won’t even make the pick until next summer. If the player they choose ends up being an NHL player, then this trade can be looked at as a win for both teams. However, even if the pick doesn’t become an NHL player, Buffalo can still be satisfied with getting an extra pick for a player they no longer needed.

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August 18th, 2024