Sabres acquire defenseman Kulikov in trade with Panthers

Sabres general manager Tim Murray filled his team’s wish list by acquiring veteran defenseman Dmitri Kulikov in a trade with the Florida Panthers.

The Panthers received Mark Pysyk and picks 38 – used on LW Adam Mascherin, a prolific scorer with Kitchener in the OHL – and 89 in the draft.

After drafting forward Alexander Nylander with their first-round pick on Friday, the Sabres still had a need for a defenseman.

All week long, Buffalo Sabres fans were hoping that GM Tim Murray would make a splash at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, trading for a left-handed defenseman who could propel the Sabres into the playoff picture. He has split each of the past four seasons between Buffalo and its American Hockey League affiliate in Rochester. In 460 games, the Russian scored 28 goals and added 110 assists.

Kulikov was in the final season of his $4.3 million contract and is a unrestricted free agent after next season. He came into his own a year ago as he cut down on his turnovers and finished with a career-best plus-8 to go with one goal and 16 assists in 74 games.

Kulikov, 25, became a trade candidate when the Panthers signed pending free agent defenseman Keith Yandle to a seven-year deal worth an average of $6.35 million per season. With that pick, Buffalo chose forward Rasmus Asplund from Sweden.