By Luke Sims -
Rumors have been swirling about a young winger named JJ Peterka who plays in Western New York. Joe Smith and Michael Russo of The Athletic have mentioned that Peterka could be a Minnesota Wild trade target. It's not that the teams have been in discussions or anything like that, but it would make sense for the Wild to go after a player of his caliber.
Peterka is only 23 and has two seasons of over 25 goals and 50 points, including his best season last year. He was second on the Buffalo Sabers in scoring last season with 68 points in just 77 games. I don’t understand why Buffalo would want to move off Peterka, but Rossi may intrigue them.
Part of the reason the Sabres are shopping Peterka is that he is due for a big bump, likely around $7-8 million, in his salary. He is a restricted free agent, and the Sabers don’t want to commit to him long-term, so he’ll be on the trade block this summer.
The Wild desperately need a scoring winger to replace Marcus Johansson and Gustav Nyquist’s production, or lack thereof. No more cardio minutes on the second line for the Wild veterans. Peterka has been in Buffalo’s top six for the past few seasons and has played well with Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens.
The German winger is solidly built at 6-foot-0, 190 lbs. Still, he’s not as big as Bill Guerin would like his players to be, but he’s got the same tenacity as Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek.
Peterka is a tough customer who will be aggressive and assertive on loose pucks and board battles. He’s got a motor that quickly makes his home fans fall in love with him. Peterka won’t be up for the Selke trophy anytime soon, but he’s not a liability in his own zone. He’s a smart player who can work within any system.
His next contract is projected to be around $7.5-8 million, similar to what Marco Rossi and his camp are asking. The Wild can take that on that salary because they are projected to have ample room to add a winger of that caliber.
So, how would the Wild acquire a player like Peterka?
Until recently, it appeared that Rossi had a lot more trade value than he seemed to have. Still, a late first-round pick or a middle-six winger rejected trade offers from the Philadelphia Flyers in return for Rossi.
Peterka and Rossi are similar players on paper. It would make sense for the Wild to include Rossi in a Peterka deal. However, Minnesota will have to add a bit to this deal to make it worth it from Buffalo’s perspective.
The Sabers have many draft picks and young prospects. They want to get over the hump and will be looking for players who can make an impact on an NHL roster. Rossi is one of those players. However, the addition of defense prospect David Spacek, who is ready to battle for an NHL spot and get more playing time in Buffalo, could be an enticing option for the Sabres. Still, he alone probably won’t be enough to get it done.
I’d consider prospect Danila Yurov untouchable in this deal. If the Wild think Peterka would take Liam Ohgren’s spot in the lineup, maybe they’d include him in a trade. However, Peterka and Ohgren are similar players, and the Wild would much rather hold onto Ohgren.
A deal that looks something like this might be able to get the trade done:
BUF: Marco Rossi, David Spacek, Michael Milne, 2026 3rd round pick, 2027 4th round pick
MIN: JJ Peterka
The Sabers get an instant impact player in Rossi, two prospects on the cusp of the NHL who can affordably add key depth to a team, and some extra draft pick value.
Minnesota and Buffalo would still have to sign their respective restricted free agents, but the Sabers will probably save a little money with Rossi rather than Peterka. Maybe Rossi takes a cheaper deal in Buffalo with a bigger opportunity in front of him.
The Wild lose out on some key depth prospects and Rossi. Still, ultimately, it would be worth it for a player like Peterka. Adding some value to Rossi for Peterka makes the most of a situation Minnesota handled poorly.
So what would the lines look like adding Peterka to the Wild’s forward core?
Kaprizov - Eriksson Ek - Mats Zuccarello
Peterka - Yurov - Matt Boldy
Marcus Foligno - Ryan Hartman - Ohgren
Yakov Trenin - Freddy Gaudreau - Justin Brazeau/other UFA
Peterka fills Johansson's spot on the second line, making Minnesota’s top group of forwards deadly. With Ohgren and Hartman in the bottom six, the Wild still has some play drivers that can help spur the secondary scoring.
Wild fans should be excited if the team can find a way to bring the Sabers winger to the state of hockey in a trade that centers around Rossi. It may be sad to see a homegrown center be traded, but Peterka would be a worthy reward.
All stats and data via HockeyDB, Evolving Hockey, and CapWages unless otherwise noted.
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