The Buffalo Sabres moved on from right winger JJ Peterka in a three-player trade with the Utah Mammoth.
Buffalo traded Peterka, 23, to the Mammoth in exchange for defenseman Michael Kesselring and right winger Josh Doan. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman were among those who reported the trade before the teams announced it Wednesday night.
Peterka also signed a five-year contract with an average annual value of $7.7 million, Utah announced.
“J.J. is a highly skilled, creative, young forward with extremely high upside,” Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong said in a press release. “He will help solidify our scoring and add to what is already a great young core of forwards on the roster. Signing J.J. to a long-term extension is another positive step towards building a sustainable contender here in Utah, and today is an exciting day for our entire organization.”
Before the trade, Peterka was a pending RFA for the Sabres, coming off his third full NHL season. He had a career-high 68 points this past season, recording 27 goals and 41 assists. He was also among the first six players added to Germany’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
With this new contract, Peterka is signed through the 2029-30 season, after which he’ll be 29 years old and a UFA.
Acquiring Peterka adds to the Mammoth’s group of young forwards. Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Barrett Hayton, Matias Maccelli and Jack McBain are 25 or younger. Even captain Clayton Keller is only 26.
As for the Sabres, they received another 23-year-old in Doan and a 25-year-old D-man in Kesselring.
This past campaign was Doan’s first full season in the NHL. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native scored seven goals and 19 points in 51 games for Utah. He carries a $925,000 cap hit and is entering the final year of his entry-level contract.
Kesselring is entering the final year of a two-year contract worth $1.4 million per season. In his first 82-game NHL season, he scored seven goals and added 22 assists for 29 points in 82 contests. Kesselring also averaged 17:41 of ice time per game and ended the campaign with a plus-four rating.
“In general, you're always going to say that you'd love to have a good depth on the D,” Sabres GM Kevyn Adams said earlier on Wednesday in a press conference before the trade. “Especially, right-shot D are hard to come by.”
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