The Boston Bruins brought in J.J. Peterka this offseason after the forward spent one year with the Utah Mammoth.
Boston traded the 23rd overall pick in this summer’s draft and a top-10 protected 2028 first-round pick to the Mammoth. Utah then moved the 23rd overall selection to the Detroit Red Wings for goalie Sebastian Cossa.
“I was super surprised. I got the call right before the draft; it was almost 1 am here. That was a huge surprise,” Peterka said on his Zoom availability after being traded.
A significant advocate for the trade to get done this summer was Bruins Assistant General Manager Dennis Bonvie.
Bonvie told The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa that he saw an opportunity to get Peterka and didn’t want to miss out on acquiring him. He knew what Peterka could add to the Bruins lineup right away.
“He’s competitive, shutting down and closing gaps. He’s got some length. He’s got some bite on the back end, which we feel like we can use. It’s going to make us a hard out in terms of playing against really good teams and making it hard on their best players,” Bonvie said of Peterka.
Most recently serving as director of pro scouting, Bonvie helped convince GM Don Sweeney to execute the Peterka trade.
“He’s going to have to come in and continue to elevate his game. But we feel he can do that,” Bonvie said.
Peterka has a high offensive ceiling
Entering his first season with the Bruins, Peterka wants to regain his on-ice confidence. He’s already envisioned what that looks like before next season starts.
“When I’m at my best, I can score basically from everywhere,” Peterka said. “Make a lot of plays and take the game over. I think that’s one thing when I’m playing at my highest level that’s one thing I can provide.”
The 24-year-old has 92 goals to his name through 320 career NHL regular season games. For the last three seasons, he has scored at least 25 goals to help propel the Buffalo Sabres and Mammoth offensively.
Now he gets to do that in Boston, where he’ll be surrounded by Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm, and David Pastrnak.
“That would be a huge honor. Playing against him was always pretty tough,” Peterka said of having a chance to play with Pastrnak. “The opportunity to play with him would be pretty cool.”
Season in Utah was a fluke for Peterka
Younger players in the NHL can have down seasons, and last year that’s how Peterka felt about his performance.
“Overall when it comes to that, I take full accountability,” Peterka said. “I wasn’t happy with the way I was playing. I think I have way more that I can give.”
He signed a 5-year extension with the Mammoth after being acquired, but one season in, General Manager Bill Armstrong was okay to go ahead and move on.
Peterka did not have any trade protection built in on the first few years of his new contract. According to Puck Pedia, he does have a 10-team no-trade clause on the final year of his current contract.
His focus is on being a fit with the Bruins and being part of their push to be a dominant team in the Eastern Conference. It won’t be an easy path for him, but Peterka expects to rebound in a big way with the Bruins and take his game to a new level.
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Bruins assistant GM fought to acquire Peterka this summer