Last summer, the Buffalo Sabres were part of a controversial trade. The club was part of a none-too-flattering trade request from a promising young player.
That player was JJ Peterka. Peterka was in the final year of his contract, one that would have made him an RFA. But the writing was on the wall that Peterka didn’t want to re-sign in Buffalo.
So, the Sabres seemingly sold low on Peterka, sending him to the Utah Mammoth. The pieces Buffalo got in return seemed like a pittance on player who had nearly scored 30 goals in his first two full NHL seasons.
The return was forward Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring. Good, but unspectacular young players. The early returns posited that the Mammoth had fleeced the Sabres in this trade.
But with the benefit of hindsight, it seems the Sabres got this controversial trade right. Doan has been a fantastic addition to the Sabres. As Harman Dayal noted in The Athletic regarding Doan:
“The 23-year-old sophomore has flat-out been one of Buffalo’s best forwards. He’s on pace to score 25 goals and 55 points, and he’s very impactful beyond just his production. Doan uses his smarts, high energy and heavy frame to dominate puck battles, control the boards and break up plays in all three zones. He’s one of the team’s best two-way wingers, as the Sabres have owned 59 percent of expected goals during Doan’s five-on-five shifts.”
At the time of this writing, Doan has 13 goals and 28 points in 41 games. For comparison’s sake, Peterka has 15 goals and 29 points in 44 games.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Jury Still Out on Kesselring
Assuming Doan is for real, that makes Kesselring the most intriguing part of this trade. The young blueliner has the potential to become an impact player on the Sabres’ blue line, even if this season has not been his best.
Dayal added:
“Kesselring, on the other hand, has been tricky to evaluate. He’s a talented, slick-skating 6-foot-5 defender with substantial second-pair upside, but he’s been limited to just 16 games because of injuries. Kesselring’s impact has been muted when he has been healthy — he’s yet to register a point and has averaged just 15:14 per game — but it’s going to require a much larger sample size to judge him.”
It’s easy to assume that a healthy Kesselring could find consistency in his game. That consistency could make his size and defensive skills worthy of adding to the Sabres’ victory lap in this trade.
Sabres Made the Best of a Bad Situation
Ultimately, the Sabres made the best of a bad situation. They could have shipped Peterka off for a couple of draft picks and called it a day. Instead, the club pushed for two young players whom the Mammoth had essentially given up on.
The Sabres now look like geniuses in extracting the value they did for Peterka. Doan looks like a fantastic replacement for Peterka, while Kesselring could be a mainstay in the team’s future. Even if Kesselring washes out, the Sabres would still get the win in this trade. The club diffused a potentially explosive situation and landed a commensurate replacement in the process.
Sabres Got This Controversial Trade Right