After weeks of trade rumors, the Buffalo Sabres have finally dealt winger JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for defenseman Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan. Peterka was one of the hottest names on the market, and he goes to a Mammoth team already loaded with skill up front.
Peterka, who just turned 23 in January, broke out with 27 goals and 41 assists last season. In fact, Peterka’s production has taken a big leap forward in each of his three full seasons. The former second-round pick has the potential to be a point-per-game player and a bona fide top line winger.
The Mammoth are a team on the rise, so this move makes some sense for them, especially if they got the sense that they weren’t going to land Mitch Marner in free agency. Peterka is a nice consolation prize, even if he is clearly less polished.
The return does seem a little underwhelming for the Sabres at first glance, but they didn’t necessarily come away empty handed. Kesselring is a rangy defenseman who has potential to be quite good in a top-four role. Doan is still only 23, and there’s a good chance he will play a bottom-six for in Buffalo for a long time.
Let’s take a deeper look at what each side got in this deal how they came out.
The trade
Mammoth receive
Sabres receive
- F Josh Doan
- D Michael Kesselring
Grades
Utah Mammoth
Peterka was one of the most coveted players on the trade block for a reason. It’s tough to find 23-year-olds whose production has jumped by 18 points in each of the last two seasons. In 2024-25, Peterka’s 68 points were tied with Rasmus Dahlin for second on the team, and he rounds out an exciting young forward group in Salt Lake City.
There are few things Peterka loves more than attacking of the rush, so he brings some quick-strike ability to the Utah offense. With 55 goals combined over the last two years, Peterka has proven he can light the lamp at the NHL level, but he also displayed some nice playmaking ability this past season. He nearly doubled his assist total from the year before, going from 22 to 41.
As great as Peterka may be in the offensive zone, especially in transition, there are some obvious warts in his game. In particular, Peterka has a tendency to give back a lot of what he gets. With Peterka on the ice at five-on-five, the Sabres allowed 3.04 xGA/60, per Natural Stat Trick. That poor defense didn’t always show up in the box score because the Sabres shot 14.2% when Peterka was in the game. That’s just not a sustainable number.
Upon acquiring Peterka, the Mammoth signed him to a five-year contract worth $7.7 million. Given his age and the upward trend of the salary cap, that should wind up being a fair deal. Peterka has immense offensive upside, and the Mammoth will have quite the weapon at the top of the lineup if he can clean up his defensive game. Grade: B+
Buffalo Sabres
If it were me, I’m not sure I would have been looking to move Peterka, even if his contract demands were on the high end. That type of proven talent at such a young age is difficult to find, and it will be hard for Buffalo to replace Peterka in its top six. The Sabres may wind up OK here, but Kesselring will have to thrive in his new role.
When watching Kesselring, it’s not hard to see why the Sabres would have some interest in him. The 6-foot-5 and 215-pound defenseman moves well, and he is capable of making some slick plays with the puck.. Those are all the traits NHL teams identify in top-four defensemen, which is exactly the role Kesselring will be asked to play in Buffalo. This past season, Kesselring posted an expected goals share of 54.1% at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick. He did that while surrendering just 2.31 xGA/60.
On the offensive end, Kesselring posted seven goals and 22 assists, but I suspect he’s capable of more given the way he can skate. With one more year left on his contract at $1.4 million, Kesselring also comes much cheaper than Peterka, even if he is two years older.
Doan, the sone of Arizona Coyotes legend Shane Doan, filled a bottom-six role for Utah last season. He recorded 19 points in 51 games. Those numbers won’t blow anyone away, but at just 23 years old, Doan can grow into a solid bottom-six role to give the Sabres some decent depth.
At first glance, this is a bad deal for the Sabres due to the amount of offense that just walked out the door. What keeps their grade afloat is the potential of the underrated Kesselring, who Buffalo will really need if it also trades defenseman Bowen Byram at some point this summer. Grade — C+
