Sabres Turned Down 4 Big Trade Offers For Peterka Before Sending Him To Utah
Insider Frank Seravalli said on the DFO Rundown on Thursday that he found the Sabres' return "underwhelming" and said a few NHL GMs "were surprised."
"If you're a Sabres fan, you've got a pit in your stomach," said Seravalli. But then he dropped the big revelation, that Buffalo, depending on one's interpretation, might not have gotten the best package for Peterka that was out there.
"I just think there were so many other interesting offers on the table, I'm surprised they went with this one."
Let's list them:
St. Louis Blues, Jordan Kyrou
Seravalli says the Blues put 30-goal scorer Jordan Kyrou on the table. He isn't sure if it was straight up or just part of a larger deal, but that's certainly a star forward the Sabres could have gotten in return. He has six years to run on an $8.125 million AAV... Not too far off from the five-year, $7.7 million that Peterka signed for with Utah after the trade.
NY Islanders, Noah Dobson
The Sabres wanted a right-shot defenseman as a return in a Peterka trade, and they got a sizeable one with potential, in Michael Kesselring. But Noah Dobson, also a pending RFA on the trade block, is one of the top up-and-coming right-shot Ds in the league at age 25 or under. The sticking point here might have been his asking price on a new contract (said to be $11M AAV).
Unknown Team
Two first-round picks + two roster players.
Minnesota Wild
The longest-standing offer on the table came from the Wild, who made fellow RFA Marco Rossi available in a Peterka deal, plus "something added to it," says Seravalli.
In all, "this was a very difficult trade for the Buffalo Sabres. They did not want to make this trade... Philosophy-wise, they didn't want to trade Peterka... (But) they had a whole swath of things (they could have done)."
Photo: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
