Late last night, the inevitable JJ Peterka trade to Utah was completed, and the Rangers were not involved, to the surprise of only a few Rangers fans. The main surprise of the trade was the return of Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan, which was awfully light for Buffalo. But as somewhat expected, the Rangers were not involved in a trade involving a Buffalo star, and though it’s rare to see a trade not involving the Rangers impact them, there is still some impact.
The JJ Peterka trade starts a pattern
1. The JJ Peterka trade is the second star from the Buffalo Sabres that the Rangers were not only heavily rumored to be involved, but could have been a realistic landing spot. But much like the Jack Eichel trade, the Rangers were left high and dry as Buffalo took a seemingly worse return than what the Rangers could have/would have offered. Though it’s worth noting the only forward on the roster that is comparable to Doan is Will Cuylle. Make of that what you will.
Braden Schneider would have been the comparable player to Kesselring. Would you have traded Cuylle and Schneider for Peterka and then used the remaining cap space to ink him to a $7.7 million deal?
There’s no wrong answer to the question since we know it won’t happen. But it’s an interesting proposition.
2. This is now the second time Buffalo has used Chris Drury in negotiation for one of their stars, only to send that star elsewhere out West. It seems Buffalo just likes toying with Drury and the Rangers, which fuels the rumors that Sabres owner Terry Pegula simply won’t deal with the Blueshirts on anything major. Perhaps it’s a desire to see the star as few times as possible during the season and/or playoffs. Perhaps it’s a little brother syndrome thing.
Either way, Drury has now fallen for this twice. Once with the Jack Eichel debacle. And now once with the JJ Peterka trade. At least he learned not to put all his eggs into one basket this time around.
Lesson learned: If there’s a Buffalo star on the market, the Rangers are only used to fuel rumors. No more. No less.
No Peterka is a good thing
3. As said on Live From the Blue Seats, the Rangers probably dodge a bullet with the JJ Peterka trade. Not because of Peterka, who is a fine player with some inflated numbers due to a high shooting percentage last year. He would have been a good fit with the Rangers. The problem was with acquisition cost versus position of need. The assets the Rangers would have required to complete a JJ Peterka trade would have created more holes elsewhere on the roster.
4. Given how much the Rangers are struggling to fill the holes we know they need to fill–2C/3C, scoring winger, left defense–then the Rangers were saved from themselves with the JJ Peterka trade. It leaves them money to sign Vlad Gavrikov, which seems to be a guarantee at this point, though that contract could be a doozy. It still leaves them with room to move K’Andre Miller, if they are able, to address other areas. Carson Soucy should be on the move, but we have no idea what’s going on with him.
Theorizing a potential trade
5. It’s still fun to theorize what the Rangers could have done in terms of a JJ Peterka trade. If we assume the above is true, that it would have taken Cuylle and Schneider to get the deal done, and we (correctly) assume Cuylle > Doan and Schneider > Kesselring, then it’s fair to assume Buffalo would need to add. Perhaps that need to add is why the JJ Peterka trade to the Rangers was never a real possibility.
Would Peterka and Bowen Byram for Cuylle and Schneider make sense? I think it’s fair value, though I’m sure both sides would hate the trade. Acquiring Byram would mean the Rangers have insurance to move on from both Miller and Soucy to free up additional space, remove the logjam at LD, and potentially address other roster holes.
6. On the whole, I thought a JJ Peterka trade was going to be a bad idea for the Rangers, and I’m glad they weren’t involved. The Rangers need a center far more than they need another winger. Given new coach Mike Sullivan’s propensity for developing wingers, it would be wise to let him work his magic with Cuylle, Alexis Lafreniere, Gabe Perreault, and perhaps Brennan Othmann and Brett Berard, if they are still with the Rangers to start the season.
Remember, no team is compete on October 1. The Rangers may only be able to address 2-3 holes this summer while waiting to see how the season shakes out.
Potential impact
7. The JJ Peterka trade does have some impact, and that would be with any potential trade involving Artemi Panarin. They are far from direct comparable players, but there’s enough to warrant a re-evaluation of Panarin’s potential value. Panarin likely isn’t moving, but it’s fair to assume the Rangers would not get a massive haul for their star winger. There are too many complications like his expiring contract, no-move clause, and high cap hit. The Rangers most certainly wouldn’t be able to shed his full salary without taking something back.
Interestingly enough, Mika Zibanejad may have more value than Panarin, especially after his $9 million bonus is paid by the Rangers on July 1. He’s likely not going anywhere either. Just fun to think about how all this can play out.
