The NHL season is not yet a month old, and the storylines are flooding social media. The Utah Mammoth have started strong at home and look to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Last summer, general manager Bill Armstrong made the news with a blockbuster trade, acquiring JJ Peterka from the Buffalo Sabres for Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring.
Both teams were excited about their returns despite the popular opinion that Buffalo did not get enough return for a young superstar like Peterka. Utah fans knew they paid a price with the departure of Kesselring and Doan, but it would take some time for the Buffalo fans to warm up to them.
JJ Peterka
It was widely known that Peterka's party and the Buffalo Sabres management could not get a contract extension completed. The Utah Mammoth moved quickly to offer a package acceptable to Buffalo before the NHL Draft. Peterka immediately signed a new extension with Utah that keeps the 23-year-old forward in Utah for 5 years at $38.50 million.
The young German had progressed in Buffalo, jumping to a near 30-goal scorer in his last two seasons. The Buffalo franchise had taken many hits in the last decade, with poor management and top players looking to leave. The most recent example is Jack Eichel's exit to Las Vegas and winning a Stanley Cup for the Golden Knights.
The writing was on the wall for Peterka to make the same exit, but the fans expected a haul for a 23-year-old phenom. What they received was no draft choices or prospects, but two NHL players who were not household names.
Kesselring is a rising star on defense and can play shut-down defense, while moving the puck up the ice smoothly. Doan was the absolute unknown, while the most noticeable player was going the other direction to Utah.
So far, Peterka has been as advertised with some pretty playmaking ability and goal finishing hands. Even so, the production has not been star-powered, with just 1 assist and 2 goals. After scoring 27 goals last year and signing a big contract, it is expected that Peterka will surpass the 30-goal mark this season.
Still adjusting to a new organization, teammates, and place to live, it is expected that Peterka would have a period of adjustment. Scoring 2 goals while adjusting is not bad at all, and the chemistry with his linemates will only improve with time.
Josh Doan
The beloved Doan's departure was grieved by the fanbase, but the big picture was laid out by Bill Armstrong for his new fans. Prospects were close to making the NHL in the Utah system, and Doan became expendable. After playing a secondary role to start his NHL career in Arizona and Utah, Buffalo fans were expecting an up-and-coming forward with a high-scoring ceiling.
To date, Doan has not produced like a scoring forward, but has provided tireless work on the ice and a physical playing style. Like every young forward, the scoring is always the last thing to translate at the NHL level. It is easy to forget, but Doan is no slouch and was drafted 37th overall by his father's team, the Arizona Coyotes, in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Like Peterka, Doan is just 23 years old and has scored 12 goals in just 61 NHL games. Still, this was a player who showed strong leadership at a young age and knows how to play in every situation, even playing power-play minutes for Utah last season.
After a slow first two games, as did the Sabres in general, Doan provided inspired, hard-working play despite the team starting 0-3.
Fast forward to the last two games, and the story has changed in a big way. The Sabres have won two straight, and Doan has 2 goals and 3 assists. The fanbase in Buffalo has fallen in love, as the Utah fans expected.
Despite the infancy of the season, the comparisons between Doan and Peterka have already begun. Naturally, the Buffalo fans are bitter at the way Peterka exited and relish the fact that Doan has better production, currently.
I believe that Peterka will ultimately surpass Doan in statistics when it is all said and done, but Doan will provide much more than what is on the score sheet, which Buffalo desperately needs right now. This will turn out to be a classic trade that worked out wonderfully for both teams.