The Buffalo Sabres were criticized for a trade last summer that sent high-scoring winger JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for fellow forward Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring.
Boy, has the narrative ever changed over the past 10 months.
Doan has emerged as a key foundational piece for the Sabres with a breakout season highlighted by outscoring Peterka (52-47). It earned the 24-year-old winger a seven-year, $48.7 million contract extension from the organization. He's added a goal and an assist in the playoffs.
Even though Kesselring hasn't made the same type of impact, the trade is still aging well for Buffalo, especially given Peterka's nonexistent postseason impact so far.
The 2020 second-round pick has yet to record a point with Utah and the Vegas Golden Knights tied at two games apiece in their first-round series. He's registered just five shots on goal while accumulating a minus-three rating.
His underlying numbers are also a concern, The Mammoth have only generated 29.4% of the expected goals and 28.6% of the scoring chances when he's been on the ice in 5-on-5 situations, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Peterka, who averaged nearly 16 minutes of ice time per game during the regular season, is down below 13 minutes per contest so far in the playoffs.
The Mammoth desperately need the 24-year-old German to start creating some offense if they're going to upset the Golden Knights in the opening round. HockeyStats.com currently has Vegas as a 57% favorite to advance.
Josh Doan and JJ Peterka will be forever linked, but what's next for Michael Kesselring?
Quite simply, it's been a lost season for Kesselring.
The 26-year-old defenseman was originally viewed as the cornerstone piece of the trade for Buffalo. A right-shot blueliner coming off a career-high 29 points and a successful stint with Team USA at the 2025 IIHF World Championship seemingly carried immense value.
Alas, he struggled to overcome a couple different leg injuries throughout the campaign, including a high-ankle sprain that appeared to sap his skating acceleration and speed, and he'd fallen well down the defensive depth chart by the time he got closer to full strength.
Now Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen must decide what's the best path forward with Kesselring, who's an impending restricted free agent.
Buffalo can't non-tender him. He's still in his mid-20s and just one year removed from a breakthrough campaign that significantly raised his stock. Simply letting him head into free agency while getting nothing in return would be a massive mistake.
Trading him would likely prove difficult, at least in terms of trying to get a fair return. Any interested teams are going to view him through a buy-low lens, trying to get him from the Sabres for scraps.
Either of those options would be horrible asset management by Buffalo. Yes, Kesselring's baseline numbers (two points in 34 games) were a massive disappointment, but the analytics paint a far more optimistic picture about his play.
The Northeastern University product ranked third among Sabres defensemen in expected goal share at 50.8%, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Although the injury-related skating issues prevented him from playing the type of up-tempo style that helped Buffalo thrive this season, his defensive positioning and awareness remained strong and he should be completely healthy to open training camp for 2026-27.
The Sabres should bring the defender back on a short-term extension — Kesselring will probably prefer a one-year agreement, so he can hit unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2027 if he falls out of favor in Buffalo again — and give him a chance to earn a full-time role next season.
Kesselring may not become the long-term Owen Power partner on the second pair that the Blue and Gold envisioned at the time of the trade, but that doesn't mean he can't bring value.
Add in the fact the Sabres will need some low-salary contributors next season, especially if they ultimately re-sign Alex Tuch to a lucrative extension, and it's clear the South Carolina native should be kept around for at least another year.
He deserves a second chance to prove he can emerge as an important piece for Buffalo.
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