Vancouver Canucks trade Riley Stillman to Buffalo Sabres for Josh Bloom

The Vancouver Canucks have traded defenseman Riley Stillman to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for forward prospect Josh Bloom.

Stillman has one more year left at $1.35 million. The move gives the Canucks around $7.3 million in current cap space with five days before the NHL’s Trade Deadline.

The son of former NHLer Cory Stillman, the 24-year-old blueliner has zero goals and five assists while playing a minor role with the Canucks. Stillman spent last year with the Chicago Blackhawks, scoring a career-high two goals and 12 points. Stillman spent parts of his first three seasons with the Florida Panthers after the team drafted him with the 114th pick in 2016.

Stillman will give the Sabres some extra defensive depth ahead of the team’s playoff push.

Bloom, 19, is currently in his third OHL season, chugging along at a point-per-game pace with the North Bay Battalion. Bloom was drafted 95th overall in 2021 after the cancelled COVID-19 season prevented him from building upon a quiet rookie campaign. The Sabres wasted little time signing him, though, giving him an entry-level contract last April while still with the Saginaw Spirit. The Spirit moved him early to the Battalion, where he quickly became one of the team’s best stars.

The Sabres are currently one spot out of the NHL’s wild-card fight, sitting one points behind Pittsburgh and three behind the New York Islanders. The Sabres last made the post-season in 2010-11, losing in Game 7 against the Philadelphia Flyers. They last won a playoff round in 2007 when they beat the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Canucks are 19 points out of the final wild-card spot and should factor into the Connor Bedard race instead. Vancouver has boosted it’s young prospect core in recent weeks, acquiring Aatu Raty from the Islanders in the Bo Horvat trade and Vitali Kravtsov from the Rangers last weekend.