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Details Of A Failed Blockbuster Trade For JJ Peterka Revealed

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Tom Banks | Last updated Jun 26, 2025 1:43 PM ET

The Buffalo Sabres traded JJ Peterka on Wednesday night, and now we know of a huge deal from Minnesota that they turned down involving Marco Rossi, having many questioning exactly why Buffalo ended up taking the deal from Utah.

On Wednesday, we finally saw JJ Peterka traded after weeks of speculation, with the Buffalo Sabres getting back Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan in what seemed to be an underwhelming deal.

In the deal, Peterka inked a five-year extension with the Utah Mammoth, and it had plenty around the league wondering if this was really the best offer that the Sabres got for a rising 23-year old star.

According to reports, it may not have been, as the Minnesota Wild offered Marco Rossi along with either prospects/picks and another roster player for Peterka, with the Sabres seemingly believing that Doan/Kesselring was a better deal.

'The Wild offered center Marco Rossi as the starting point in any package [for Peterka] and were willing to include another roster player and/or prospects and picks.'

Sure, Rossi isn't the biggest player, but in his career thus far, he's been very productive, having a career high of 60 points a season ago, and although they'd need to extend him, it's baffling that the Sabres didn't show much interest in this deal.

Opinions appear to be split on the eventual return that Buffalo got for Peterka, with Doan having solid potential at the NHL level after tallying 19 points in 51 games a season ago, but with the chance to land Rossi and another roster player or a combination of picks/prospects, it's very hard to see exactly why the Sabres ended up taking the deal that they did.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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