JJ Peterka Traded to Mammoth from Sabres and Agrees to 5-Year, $7.7M AAV Contract

Dynamic young forward JJ Peterka received both a move out west and a sizable pay raise as the NHL offseason kicks into gear.

The Utah Mammoth announced Thursday they acquired Peterka from the Buffalo Sabres for forward Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring. They also handed the 23-year-old, who was headed to restricted free agency, a five-year deal worth $7.7 million annually.

"JJ is a highly skilled, creative, young forward with extremely high upside," Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said. "He will help solidify our scoring and add to what is already a great young core of forwards on the roster. Signing JJ 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."

Peterka appeared in 77 games in 2024-25, tallying 27 goals and 41 assists. The potential is clearly there for a player still growing on the ice, and Utah paid a reasonable price in terms of the trade and extension.

Adding the German addresses a clear need as well. The Mammoth tied for 20th in goals per game (2.93).

With the new contract comes greater expectations. Peterka is now the highest-paid forward on Utah's roster, and only defenseman Mikhail Sergachev has a bigger AAV ($8.5 million). The Mammoth are counting on him to anchor the forward line right now and into the future.

From the other side of the trade, look no further than the fact that Bleacher Report's Joe Yerdon listed Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams and Buffalo fans as a whole among the losers from the late-night swap.

"The bright spots have always been the young, homegrown players," he wrote.
"The players that made the pain of losing eventually pay off because they had to be the guys to change everything, right? And now for the third time in four years, a top young player they drafted is headed out of town."

Leaving aside the sting of Peterka's exit, Doan and Kesselring also look like a relatively light return for a player of his ability, even when factoring in his impending free agency.

And at this point, Adams has lost the benefit of the doubt on what he'll do with the cap space he created by trading Peterka or when selling the idea the Sabres are better off over the long haul.