NHL Free Agency: JJ Peterka A Prime Offer Sheet Candidate for Metropolitan Team

JJ Peterka is a restricted free agent for the Buffalo Sabres this summer, and we heard recently from an insider that he just might not be too happy with the situation in Buffalo. We've already heard that the NY Rangers might have him on their radar, and now another Metropolitan team could have Peterka as an offer sheet target as well—the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Pens have an absolute boatload of cap space to use this summer. With the rising cap, and the moves they've made this year, they'll have more than $26 million at their disposal. When Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now was asked if they intend to use some of it on an offer sheet, he was emphatic with his response, and a presumed target.

Absolutely. I can almost guarantee it.
JJ Peterka is a prime target.

The Sabres forward is coming off his entry-level contract, but will be in for a huge raise on his next deal. Analysts have projected an AAV in the $6.5 million range on a long-term contract for the third-year player who has already set his career high in points (51) through just 61 games.

With an offer sheet in that range, based on the 2024 compensation numbers, any team presenting Peterka an offer sheet in that salary bracket would have to send a first- and third-round pick in 2026 back to the Sabres. Would the Penguins be willing to do that?

It's reasonable to question if GM Kyle Dubas would be wise to go there.

"The Penguins 2026 first-rounder could be quite valuable," Kingerski rightfully notes. Perhaps players more in the mid-range, coming in well under Peterka's potential salary, might be more logical for Pittsburgh. Like the ones that the St. Louis Blues poached from the Edmonton Oilers last summer, in Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg.

Again, using the 2024 numbers (which will be updated soon), the Pens (or any offering team) would have to surrender a first-round pick starting with a contract offer over approximately the $5M AAV mark.

Peterka has 19 goals and 32 assists for 51 points (the latter two both career-highs), playing much of the season on the Sabres' top line, and is also up to a personal best 18:14 average ice time per game.