J.J. Peterka will be suiting up for the Utah Mammoth after a failed attempt to acquire him. The former Buffalo Sabre found a new home, bypassing the New York Rangers and GM Chris Drury. The Utah Mammoth sacrificed forward Josh Doan, and defenseman Michael Kesselring.![JJ Peterka]()
The reports throughout the postseason suggested that GM Chris Drury and the New York Rangers were in on the Buffalo Sabres' J.J. Peterka. The RFA had a breakout year in 2024-25 and was drawing interest across the league.
He'd score 51 points in 59 games with the Sabres, on a team that was in the dregs after once being thought of as contenders.
After that title was thrown away, they were pretenders, and JJ Peterka was the first to leave the dumpster fire in Buffalo by way of trade.
The 51-point season that garnered interest came only after his 50-point season in 2023-24, playing 82 games with the Sabres.
GM Chris Drury's Missed Opportunity
For the Rangers, this seems like a missed opportunity, given what the Sabres received in compensatory assets.
They were NHL prospects, and the only true NHLer between the two so far was Kesselring, who has seen his responsibility increase last season.
While Josh Doan still has some development to go through before he can truly crack an NHL lineup.
For the Rangers, this could've cost Drew Fortescue and Brennan Othmann, which would've put the Rangers back into win-now mode.
Consider how teams like the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers get to the deepest part of the offseason: they unload the cache.
