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The Buffalo Sabres have kicked off their summer with a major move. The Sabres traded JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan. Now GM Kevyn Adams can set his sights on the next major move in Buffalo.
Moving Peterka was something that was probably necessary for the Sabres considering he wanted a change of scenery. He was a restricted free agent. The German forward is turning only 24 years old this season, but it was unlikely a long-term deal was coming. In the process, the Sabres lost a player who scored 27 goals this past season. He also had a career high of 41 assists. In return, they bring in a right-side defender in Kesselring. The rearguard played 82 games for Utah while adding 29 points. They also bring in a 23-year-old right winger, Doan, who scored seven goals and added 12 assists last year.
Pierre LeBrun has noted that the Sabres “may be busy over the next week or two,” as they look to revamp their roster and they look to end the longest current playoff drought in the NHL. In order to do that, more trades are likely coming in Western New York.
Buffalo needs to move Bowen Byram
There have long been rumblings that the Sabres will trade Byram. He was the fourth overall pick of the 2019 NHL draft by the Colorado Avalanche. The Canadian blue liner would break into the NHL with the Avalanche in the 2020-21 season. He would then be traded to Buffalo during the 2023-24 campaign as part of the deal that sent Casey Mittelstadt to the Aves. Byram just completed a two-year deal and is now a restricted free agent.
The blue liner primarily played on the left-hand side of the defensive rotation, a spot held by Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power on the top two defensive rotations of the Sabres. At the end of the season, he was seeing more time on the right-hand side, opposite Dahlin. Still, with the addition of Kesselring, he is now expendable as the former Utah Mammoth player can take that spot.
The expected contract for Byram is between $5.2 and $7.2 million on his next deal, which, on an offer sheet, would net at least a first and third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Still, the Sabres could have brought in similar draft pick compensation for Peterka, but chose to move him for players. Considering the Sabres already have plenty of draft capital and a solid group of prospects, they need to go the route of finding players who could benefit the future of the franchise. With the likelihood that Byram wants to leave Buffalo, they need to perform a nearly identical trade for Byram as they just did with Peterka.
The Sabres should get good value for Alex Tuch
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The Sabres trading Peterka took a major cog out of their offense. He was second on the team in points this past year, while sitting third on the team in goals and second in assists. If the Sabres are going for another complete rebuild, and the rumors that players want to be traded out of Buffalo are true, the next piece that needs to move is Tuch.
Tuch was the 18th overall pick in the 2104 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild. He made his NHL debut in February 2017 for the Wild, playing in six games. He was traded over the summer to the expansion Vegas Golden Knights. In November 2021, he would be part of the trade that sent Jack Eichel to the Golden Knights. The American-born forward experienced team success in Vegas, playing in the Stanley Cup Final and in 66 playoff games overall.
His on-ice success would grow in Buffalo. The winger has scored over 20 goals in each of the last three seasons. That is a mark he achieved once in Vegas. Further, he has 59 or more points in each of the last three campaigns. He had not hit that mark in his NHL career. Regardless, he will turn 30 this season. If he wants to experience team success once again, Buffalo is not the spot.
Tuch can play on both the right wing and the center position. He is in the final year of a seven-year deal he signed with the Golden Knights before being traded. He does have a modified no-trade clause, but that is something that could easily be waived to get Tuch in the right position. Considering he will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, the Sabres need to move him now to get the most value.
It is clear the Sabres need to make more moves to take a step towards returning to the playoffs. Trading away players who are not part of the long-term solution is the first step, and although the return for Peterka was a bit underwhelming, more trades are likely coming in Western New York this summer.
