The big move the Buffalo Sabres made this offseason was trading JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth for Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan. At the time, the trade was a little surprising as it didn't seem like the Sabres got the best return for a player of Peterka's caliber.
Recently during an episode of The Sheet with Jeff Marek, he discussed the Peterka trade and mentioned to Pierre McGuire the idea that a trade with the Minnesota Wild with Peterka for Marco Rossi made sense. McGuire confirmed that it did make sense and he had heard this idea from other people around the league.
Rossi is an undersized center who was a restricted free agent this summer but is coming off back-to-back seasons with 20+ goals. As Marek and McGuire noted, this would have made a lot of sense and Rossi would have looked great next to Tage Thompson on that top line.
However, any trade involving Rossi would have had the additional hurdle of working on a new contract for him. The Wild eventually got there and signed him to a three-year deal but if the Sabres were to make a trade they probably would have wanted to do a longer deal.
Did the Buffalo Sabres make the right trade involving JJ Peterka?
In the episode, McGuire discussed the trade the Sabres did make a little bit more and said he understands the vision the team took with the trade. While Peterka might be the best player involved among the players traded, the addition of Kesselring should be a great boost for Owen Power and gives him a player who can help him reach that next level.
This is a trade that will take some time to be evaluated and whether or not it was the right move. A trade for Marco Rossi would have given them more top-line talent but wouldn't have given them a piece that could unlock Power and that might end up being the biggest positive from this trade.