Eric Staal was traded to the Montreal Canadiens by the Buffalo Sabres on Friday for a third-round and a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.

Staal is in the final season of a two-year, $6.5 million contract ($3.25 million average annual value) he signed with the Minnesota Wild on Feb. 25, 2019 and can become an unrestricted free agent after the season. The Sabres will retain $1.625 million of the forward's salary.

Alexander Volkov was traded to the Anaheim Ducks by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday.

The Lightning receive forward prospect Antoine Morand and a seventh-round NHL Draft pick.

Volkov has scored five points (three goals, two assists) in 19 games for the Lightning this season, his second in the NHL. The 23-year-old forward had one assist in nine NHL games last season. He was a second-round pick (No. 48) by Tampa Bay in the 2017 NHL Draft.

The Colorado Avalanche acquired Jonas Johansson from the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday in a bid to shore up their shaky backup goaltending.

The Sabres received Colorado's sixth-round draft pick in a trade agreed to a day earlier. The Sabres had to wait for COVID-19 testing results after the Boston Bruins, their most recent opponent, had four players enter the NHL protocol Friday.

The Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday acquired defenseman Mikko Lehtonen from the Toronto Maple Leafs for goaltender Veini Vehvilainen.