It has been an eventful offseason for JJ Peterka, as he has been the center of many trade rumors, offer sheets, matches, and now the 2026 Olympic Games preliminary roster.
On their official Instagram account, Team Germany explained that because of J.J. Peterka’s uncertain contract situation with the Sabres, he was left off the preliminary roster. This seems like an odd reason to leave someone off the roster, considering the NHL has nothing to do with the Olympic Games.
Germany’s hockey federation commented on Peterka’s situation and how much he means to Team Germany.
“JJ is, of course, an important part of the German team – due to the current unclear contract situation, he is currently missing from this list. In addition, all nations were allowed to name only six players.”
Peterka had a break in the 2024-25 season, scoring 27 goals with 41 assists and finishing second overall in team scoring behind Tage Thompson by only four points.
The fnames on the German roster include Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings, Tim Stutzle of the Ottawa Senators, Philipp Grubauer of the Seattle Kraken, Lukas Reichel of the Chicago Blackhawks, and Nico Sturm of the Florida Panthers.
It seems crazy to add guys like Reichel and Sturm, and not include Peterka because of the uncertainity of his contract. When playing for your home country in an international tournament has nothing to do with what happens in the NHL.
It just seems odd that would happen of all things, considering all of the rumors about Peterka this offseason. Whether he likes playing in Buffalo, or wants to go elsewhere, or if any Sabres players are displeased with the future of this team.
This would have been a nice confidence booster for Peterka as it would of listed him as one of the best player in his country, and a chance to help Germany make an underdog run in the Olympics. Sadly it seems Peterka just has his name in the news for all the wrong reasons, and hopefully will remain a Sabre through the deadline.