Sabres Place Berglund on Waivers, Intend to Terminate Contract

The Buffalo Sabres placed Patrik Berglund on unconditional waivers on Wednesday with the intent of terminating his contract. Berglund was suspended by the Sabres on Saturday for failure to report to the team.

By not showing up to a mandated team event, Berglund was in breach of his contract. The Sabres then had the right to terminate the remainder of his contract without penalty, a right they exercised on Wednesday.

Berglund was acquired in the trade that sent Ryan O’Reilly to St. Louis on July 1. It’s been widely reported this week that Berglund was not happy with the move to Buffalo. Berglund’s contract originally included a full-no trade clause that became a partial no-trade on June 30, 2018, the day before he was traded to the Sabres. Berglund’s updated no-trade list was apparently not completed before the trade on July 1, validating the move to Buffalo.

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On the surface, the scenario could not have played out better for the Sabres. Berglund was thrown into the trade as nothing more than a salary dump as the Blues looked to get out from under his $3.85-million cap hit. The ten-year veteran registered just two goals and two assists in 23 games with the Sabres this season.