Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - JJ Peterka and his camp have gotten their wish, as late Wednesday night, the Buffalo Sabres traded the winger to the Utah Mammoth for right-shot defenseman Michael Kesselring and forward Josh Doan.
Over his last two seasons in Buffalo, Peterka scored 55 goals, netting 27 goals this past year and registering a career-high 68 points.
In 238 career games with the Sabres after being their second-round pick (34th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft, Peterka scored 67 goals and 83 assists for 150 points.
The problem with Peterka, at this point of his career, is he’s a severe liability defensively. That is something that can be fixed, but he has to be willing to commit to it.
Peterka has never said why he wanted out in Buffalo after just three NHL seasons. When general manager Kevyn Adams was asked about Peterka on Tuesday, he said he didn’t think it would be fair to talk about it.
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NHL insider Frank Seravalli is reporting that Peterka immediately agreed to a new contract extension with the Mammoth, signing for five years at $38.5 million.
As for the return from Utah, Kesselring is a 25-year-old who played all 82 games for the Mammoth this past season, scoring seven goals and adding 22 assists for 29 points.
He adds size at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, and is capable of performing in the Sabres' top-four defensive group. He also had 89 penalty minutes last year, and isn’t afraid at all to mix things up with opposing teams.
Kesselring has many of the ingredients the Sabres' defense was missing.
Originally drafted in the 2018 NHL Draft as a sixth-round pick by the Edmonton Oilers, Kesselring was traded to the, then, Arizona Coyotes in March of 2023.
Over his 156-game NHL career, Kesselring has scored 12 goals and registered 41 assists for 53 points. He also spent 141 games in the American Hockey League during his development.
Before turning pro, he spent two years at Northeastern University, where he was teammates with goalie Devon Levi in the 2020-21 campaign.
Kesselring also played a key role on Team USA, which won the gold medal at this year’s World Championship in Sweden. In 10 games played for the Americans, he had a goal and three assists for four points, and was plus-7.
As for Doan, he is the son of Coyotes legend Shane Doan.
The right winger split time last season between the Mammoth and their AHL team in the Tucson Roadrunners. With Utah, the 23-year-old netted seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points in 51 games. With Tucson he had 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points in 28 games.
The Coyotes selected Doan in the second round (37th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft out of the United States Hockey League.
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 198 pounds, Doan certainly isn’t going to fill the hole left in the Sabres' top-six with Peterka now gone.
Essentially what this trade does is make the Sabres' defense better, which was desperately needed, but now has them looking for two top-six forwards.
I boil this trade down to Peterka for Kesselring.