BUFFALO – Utah Mammoth winger JJ Peterka wanted no part of the questions and revisiting that part of his past here.
Before the Sabres traded him on June 26, did he request to be dealt? Did he want out of Buffalo?
“I met so many great people in the organization,” Peterka replied prior to Tuesday’s game, his first at KeyBank Center as a visitor. “I made so many good friends. But, yeah, I think just right now, my focus is on Utah, on the season.”
Not long ago, Peterka, 23, established himself as one of the Sabres’ core pieces. He scored 28 goals and 50 points in 2023-24 before registering 27 goals and 68 points last season.
But by last year, his third full campaign with the Sabres, he appeared to be growing frustrated. He looked unhappy.
Clearly, his relationship with the team began souring as restricted free agency loomed.
General manager Kevyn Adams said in June the Sabres intended to re-sign the German before “it became apparent to me and our group that it wasn’t going to work.”
So they traded Peterka to Utah in exchange for winger Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring.
The deal has enhanced both teams.
Utah has roared out of the gate, compiling an 8-4-0 record entering Tuesday’s contest. Peterka, who had registered four goals, 10 points and a plus-6 rating, skates on a scoring line alongside center Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther.
Peterka said “work ethic” has buoyed the Mammoth’s hot start.
“Just everyone’s working so hard, supporting on the ice, off the ice,” he said. “So I think just being a good team together, camaraderie.”
Meanwhile, the Sabres had 13 points entering Tuesday’s game, the Eastern Conference’s lowest total. Still, they shared that number with four teams. They were just one point out of the second wild card spot and two points out of third place in the Atlantic Division.
They began the night 5-1-3 in their last nine games.
Doan has enjoyed a strong start, scoring four goals and nine points in the first 12 games while often skating in a top-six role. Kesselring, a right-shot defender the Sabres coveted, recently returned from an undisclosed injury that sidelined him the first nine games.
“I think we like what we got and they like what they got,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said.“Sometimes that’s what a hockey trade’s about.”
Peterka, a second-round pick in 2020, 34th overall, sounds energized by playing in postcard-pretty Salt Lake City, a place he called “stunning.”
In Buffalo, his penchant for ill-advised plays drove coaches crazy. In his first weeks with the Mammoth, he has developed into a sounder defensive presence.
“I think from Day One he was really receptive making some adjustments, or doing certain things the way we want them to do it,” Utah coach André Tourigny said.
Returning to Buffalo as a visitor has been a special and even odd experience for Peterka.
He caught up with his former teammates and visited Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s house. When he tried to shower in the visitor’s locker room in KeyBank Center, he said he couldn’t find it.
“Definitely something else,” Peterka said. “Yeah, but it’s going to be interesting being on the other side today.”
Fans booed Peterka the first time he touched the puck. The Sabres did not welcome him back with a message or a video on the scoreboard.
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Center Noah Ostlund is back with the Sabres following a five-day stint in the minors.
The Sabres on Tuesday recalled the prospect from the Rochester Americans because forwards Jiri Kulich and Jason Zucker are sick and missed Tuesday’s game.
Ruff said Kulich, who has fluid in his ears, likely won’t play in Thursday’s home contest against the St. Louis Blues. Meanwhile, Ruff said Zucker felt worse Tuesday than he did Monday.
Zucker has been placed on injured reserve, so he must miss seven days. His placement is possibly retroactive to Saturday’s 4-3 shootout win over the Washington Capitals, when he played just five shifts in the third period.
The Sabres did receive some good news Tuesday. Forward Tyson Kozak, who has missed the last four games with a lower-body injury, participated in the optional pregame skate.
Ruff hasn’t ruled Kozak out for Thursday’s game.
In the meantime, Ostlund, 21, has another opportunity to impress the Sabres. In last Wednesday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, he enjoyed perhaps his best night in the NHL, registering three shots on goal.
“Just based on numbers, really, did play well,” Ruff said of why Ostlund was recalled again. “I thought it was probably one of his best games. I thought he defended well and was in on some good opportunities. I’d just like to see him finish a couple of those good opportunities he got.”
Ostlund, the 16th overall pick in 2022, had recorded zero points in 12 career NHL games entering Tuesday.
Notes: Sabres winger Mason Geertsen played against Utah after sitting out six straight games as a healthy scratch. … The Sabres also scratched defenseman Jacob Bryson and goalie Colten Ellis (both healthy). … Sabres goalie prospect Scott Ratzlaff has been named the ECHL’s Rookie of the Month for October. Ratzlaff, 20, compiled a 3-0-0 mark with a 1.29 goals-against average and a .966 save percentage in three games.
“That’s an opportunity to help accelerate your career.”
When the #Buffalo Sabres traded JJ Peterka and didn’t add an established top-six forward, few figured they could replace his scoring w/Josh Doan.
More on Doan and Michael Kesselring facing Utah:https://t.co/HKyDUEBZWu
— Bill Hoppe (@BillHoppeNHL) November 4, 2025