BUFFALO – Luke Schenn, the physical, stay-at-home defenseman, figured his NHL career could be over. As the game became evolved and became faster, he never adapted.
Early in 2018-19, his 11th season, the Anaheim Ducks waived him. When he cleared, he reported to the San Diego Gulls having never played a game in the minors.
“When you get passed up by 31 NHL teams, you go on waivers, and it’s not because it’s a salary cap issue, it’s just because of your play, you’re really not sure if you’re ever going to find your way back,” Schenn told the Times Herald last month following a practice in KeyBank Center.
Schenn, who joined the Sabres from the Winnipeg Jets hours before the March 6 trade deadline, has found his way back again and again, refusing to take no for answer.
That trip to San Diego wasn’t the last time he thought he might be finished.
Schenn, 36, has endured starts and stops and trips back to the AHL. He has worked at his craft, seeking outside help to revamp his game for the modern NHL.
“I think the biggest thing is like everyone says, ‘Well, how did you change your game? How did you reinvent yourself?’” said Schenn, whose playoff-bound Sabres play a road game Wednesday against the New York Rangers. “I don’t think ‘change’ or ‘reinvent’ is the right word. I think it’s ‘evolve.’”
In the past, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Schenn said coaches and trainers got on him to drop weight. They wanted him to work with a skating coach, change his stride or get better on his edges.
“At the end of the day, when you’re 29, 30 years old, you can’t really, I don’t think, change your stride, or all that,” he said.
So Schenn hired Hall of Fame center Adam Oates to assess his game. Schenn said Oates told him to start thinking the play in a different way so he could avoid footraces every shift.
Of course, puck-moving defensemen capable of navigating out of danger or snapping a long pass right on the tape are at a premium. Oates told Schenn if he simply put a five- or 10-foot pass on a teammate’s blade, he’s still moving the puck.
“Just try to work on puck touches and move the puck better with some reads and just try to get a little bit of longer leash,” Schenn said.
Schenn’s career has roared back with a vengeance. He won the Stanley Cup twice with the Tampa Bay Lightning, earned a three-year contract in 2023 and surpassed the 1,100-game mark earlier this season.
Still, he needed a bit of time to get back on track.
After the Ducks dealt him to the Vancouver Canucks in 2018-19, they gave him a choice on trade deadline day: he could be assigned to Utica Comets in a paper transaction or stay in the NHL but likely not play.
“I was like, ‘Well, I’ll just stay here and be a good veteran guy,’ and I kind of thought that was the end of the road for me,” Schenn said.
Hours later, the Canucks traded defenseman Erik Gudbranson, opening up a spot for Schenn.
“They never took me out of the lineup the rest of the year,” he said.
In 2019-20, Schenn joined the Lightning as a free agent, then played two preseason games before being waived.
“That’s when I was like, ‘OK, this might be coming to end, because my wife’s pregnant and I got a 2-year-old in Tampa, I’m not going to go live in Syracuse and leave them in Tampa,’” he said.
But Schenn gave it a chance. The Lightning allowed for an unusual arrangement, letting him skate with a skills coach in Florida during the week and fly to Syracuse and play weekend games for the Crunch.
He played six contests for the Lightning’s AHL affiliate that October before returning to the NHL for good.
Today, Schenn serves as a depth defender for the Sabres, who value his experience and defending ability as they gear up for their first postseason run in 15 years.
In Monday’s 4-2 win over the Lightning, Schenn played after sitting out 10 straight games as a healthy scratch.
Following the contest, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen handed Schenn the Sabres’ player of the game belt as his teammates cheered, welcoming him back to the lineup.
“A simple defenseman that has figured out what will keep him in the league,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said.
–
The Sabres did not practice Wednesday.