JJ Peterka

Peterka Moves to Utah in a Wednesday Night Shocker

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Kevyn Adams made his first significant offseason move, trading JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan. Peterka moves to Utah with a five year, $38.5 million extension in his back pocket while the Sabres land the potential partner for Owen Power they have been seeking. 

The trade return for the Sabres is underwhelming. There’s no way around it. Peterka is a young, productive forward with team control and he was traded with an extension in place. Peterka’s value should have been sky high after 50 and 68 point seasons that both sniffed the 30-goal plateau. To only pull a middle-pair defender and a bottom six forward leaves an awful lot of value on the table. 

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The Instigator Podcast 11.4 – The Growing Crisis Surrounding Hockey Canada

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The spotlight on Hockey Canada has only gotten brighter in recent days as the investigation into how the organization has handled sexual assault claims continues to reveal deeper and darker issues with their operations. We discuss the nature of the claims against Hockey Canada and how recent revelations and announcements have raised new questions about what’s next for Hockey Canada and whether or not they’re capable of the introspection needed to enact tangible change.

We wrap up the show by digging into the lines the Sabres look set to enter the season with. We touch on the strengths of the lineup and some of the areas where issues may arise. We look at how the roster make up could affect the long and short term roster management through recalls and changes with line combinations.

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The Instigator Podcast 10.34 – Which Player from 05-06 or 06-07 Would You Plug Into the Current Sabres Roster

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It’s another Ask Instigator version of the podcast as we answer a number of listener questions on everything from trading their first round picks and what a lottery win would mean for the Sabres to which player from 2005-06 or 06-07 would we pick up and place on the current iteration of the Sabres roster.

We also touch on Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka’s All-Rookie Team nomination in the AHL and discuss Vegas impeding elimination from the NHL playoff race and how that affects the Sabres in the draft.

The Instigator Podcast 10.18 – Quarantine Takes

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The Sabres have dropped three straight since returning from the holiday break. We discuss the debuts of Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs and JJ Peterka, offering thoughts on how each looked as they played their first games in blue and gold. We also touch on the roster issues that face the Sabres as they work through what appears to be a growing COVID outbreak in the locker room.

The Instigator Podcast 10.17 – Krebs and Peterka Arrive for Sabres Holiday Return

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Peyton Krebs and JJ Peterka are poised to make their Sabres debuts as the team finally gets back to playing after an extended absence due to the league’s COVID influenced pause. We chat about how the pair will factor into the lineup along with another debutant: Alex Tuch. Beyond our excitement with Buffalo’s recent recalls, we also chat about the cancellation of the women’s U18 World Championships, how COVID has impacted the World Juniors and other topics from the past week in the NHL.

Two in the Mailbox – Visions of 2025?

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Back with another edition of the 2ITB Mailbag. Thanks to those who wrote in and if you want to participate in the next one, send me a tweet tagged with #2ITBmailbag.

@passoffpads – The year is 2025 and the Sabres are preparing for the Stanley Cup Finals (because even we can dream). Who is the goalie? Who is the captain? Who is the leading scorer? Who is the coach?

Let me just start by saying, I love your optimism. If the Sabres are a Cup contender in the 24-25 season, quite a few things will have needed to go right for them. The 2020 and 21 drafts will need to be paying dividends and the picks they’re set to make next June and in 2023 may have a say in that as well. I think Don Granato would still be the coach in this scenario, as the ramp up to Cup contender in that 24-25 season (or 25-26) would need to start in October of 2022. The likes of Owen Power, Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka will need to fill big roles and Granato will be the one welcoming them to the league next fall, so it’s only logical to conclude that the Sabres would be riding a wave that he helped start.

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The Instigator Podcast 10.3 – Taking the Preseason Pledge

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Preseason hockey is underway and we discuss the progress the Sabres have made so far but through the lens of preseason hockey. We touch on a few players who have stood out so far, including JJ Peterka and Linus Weissbach. The potential goaltending battle between Aaron Dell and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is touched on and we catch up on Rasmus Dahlin’s contract extension after missing the chance to discuss it last week.

The Instigator Podcast Episode 10.1 – Previewing the Sabres at the Prospects Challenge

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We’re kicking off season 10 of the podcast by breaking down the roster and outlook for this weekend’s Prospects Challenge. We take a look at some of the bigger names on Buffalo’s roster for the event and who we’re excited about seeing on Friday and Saturday. We discuss some of the tournament invites and if any of them could challenge for a contract in the future. We also touch on the new COVID mandates announced by the Bills and Sabres and how that will affect things moving forward this season.