Sabres pending restricted free agent defenseman Erik Brännström has agreed to terms on a three-year contract with Swiss National League club Lausanne HC, Johan Svensson of Expressen reports. Svensson said earlier this month he was expecting Brännström to head to Switzerland; now it looks like the deal is done.
The move isn’t surprising after a tumultuous 2024-25 campaign for the 25-year-old Brännström. The 2017 first-rounder wasn’t tendered by the Senators last year and signed a one-year, $900K contract with the Avalanche early in free agency, but he didn’t even make it through training camp in Colorado. The Avs, in need of salary cap flexibility to begin the season, traded him to the Canucks for the contract of LTIR-bound defender Tucker Poolman and a fourth-round pick.
While Vancouver was in need of some puck-moving defensive depth, they opted to immediately waive Brännström. He cleared and began the season in AHL Abbotsford, but the Canucks still gave him a multitude of NHL opportunities and jockeyed him between leagues for the majority of the campaign. He played limited minutes (14:56 per game), and his results were underwhelming in sheltered usage. A 3-5–8 scoring line in 28 appearances was fine for the rearguard, but his even-strength possession metrics (48.8 CF%, 48.3 xGF%) were disappointing considering his consistent offensive-zone deployment.
The Canucks waived Brännström again in January. After he cleared, that was the last we saw of him in the NHL in 2024-25. He was traded two more times ahead of the deadline – first to the Rangers in the J.T. Miller trade, and again to the Sabres for depth winger Nicolas Aubé-Kubel on deadline day – but only suited up for those teams’ AHL affiliates.
Brännström was quite productive in the minors, totaling 8-15–23 with a +14 rating across 27 appearances for Abbotsford, Hartford, and Rochester in the regular season. He’s still got some track left in the Sabres organization as he suits up for Rochester in the Calder Cup Playoffs, but it’s clear that will be the end of his stay.
One of Vegas’ three first-round picks in their inaugural 2017 draft class and later a key portion of the trade that sent Mark Stone from the Senators to the Golden Knights, Brännström has never been able to capture anything above a bottom-pairing role. Across 294 games with Ottawa and Vancouver over the last seven years, he’s averaged just 16:41 per game and has a 10-67–77 scoring line with a -17 rating. His possession metrics were historically average with a career 51.2 CF% in heavy offensive deployment, but not enough to suggest a meaningful two-way impact given his sheltered usage.
Buffalo could retain Brännström’s signing rights until 2027 by issuing him a qualifying offer, but he’ll be old enough for unrestricted free agency in the NHL when his contract with Lausanne expires in 2028. If he opts to attempt an NHL return when his Swiss deal is up, he’ll do so with the ability to sign anywhere.