The Buffalo Sabres shook up their core back in June when they traded high-scoring forward JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for winger Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring.
Now, just over a quarter of the way through the 2025-26 season, one NHL writer is ready to declare a winner in the marquee swap: The Sabres.
Sean McIndoe of The Athletic credited Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams while reviewing five "still-too-early offseason lessons."
"The Sabres won the JJ Peterka trade. They haven't won much else, but so far, Josh Doan is producing at the same rate as Peterka in Utah," McIndoe wrote. "Factor in age, salary and Michael Kesselring, and the early returns say Kevyn Adams may have actually won one here."
Peterka is off to a solid, albeit unspectacular, start to his career with the Mammoth. He's recorded 16 points (nine goals and seven assists) in 26 games. All of his goals have come at even strength, though his shooting percentage stands at a career-high 18%.
Doan, who looked like a sleeping giant before Buffalo even acquired him, has taken a significant step forward offensively this season with 16 points (eight goals and eight helpers) in 25 appearances. He's also delivered 26 hits as part of a budding two-way game.
Kesselring missed the start of the season with an injury and, after playing only nine contests, he ended back up on injured reserve with a separate ailment. He did showcase some shutdown defender traits during that short initial stint in a Blue and Gold jersey.
The Buffalo Sabres front office can learn a key lesson from the strong performance of Josh Doan
It didn't take long for Doan to become a fan favorite in Western New York. He brings a relentless work ethic and a willingness to attack the most dangerous areas of the ice on a nightly basis, which is something the Sabres have severely lacked during their 14-year playoff drought.
While his success is evident in the baseline numbers, it really shines through in the underlying metrics.
Doan leads all Sabres players in 5-on-5 expected goals for percentage (xGF%) at 59.7%, which is more than two percentage points higher than the next player on the list (Tyson Kozak; 57.4%), according to Natural Stat Trick.
The 23-year-old American winger has also generated 10.02 individual expected goals (ixG), which ranks second on Buffalo's roster behind only superstar Tage Thompson (11.1), per NST.
For too long, the Sabres have targeted players like Peterka, Jack Quinn and Dylan Cozens, who once formed the high-potential Kid Line for the Blue and Gold, in the draft. They're all one-dimensional scorers who don't bring much else to the table.
In turn, Buffalo has become a franchise prone to extended losing skids because if select contributors weren't scoring at a high rate, the whole system kind of collapsed like a house of cards.
The Sabres need more players like Doan and Zach Benson, who are willing to do the dirty work to create scoring chances in high-danger areas. The club's offense can't be solely reliant on goals that come off the rush. (It's also why the power play has struggled mightily in recent years.)
Adams has often preached Buffalo becoming tougher to play against, but his actions typically didn't back up the words. That's started to change by drafting Benson and trading for players like Doan, Kesselring and a recently resurgent Beck Malenstyn.
Yes, the Sabres offense could still benefit from another proven goal scorer, but finding one who better fits the roster's new direction should be the aim. Not another player who only impacts the game when they're lighting the lamp.
Ultimately, even if you're not ready to declare Buffalo the winner of the Peterka trade, it's time to concede it's not nearly as bad as many NHL analysts suggested when the deal first took place.