Will The Sabres Extend Peterka Before Next Season?

The 22-year-old winger scored a career-high 28 goals in his sophomore season.

The Buffalo Sabres have a couple of things that have been part of their recent history that may be a factor in the way they approach some of their contractual situations in the near future. The club in the last two years has been proactive in getting some of their top young players locked up on long-term contracts before they put up multiple big seasons, and they have had difficulty getting players to either sign or waive no-trade clauses to come to a club that has missed the playoffs 13 straight seasons.

That was the case with center Tage Thompson after he scored 38 goals in his 2021-22 breakout season, it was also what they did with Dylan Cozens, Mattias Samuelsson, and former first overall pick Owen Power, but when asked if he would pursue the same course with someone like winger J-J Peterka or goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen last month, GM Kevyn Adams did not sound as if locking them up to long-term deals was a top priority.

“Philosophically, we are always open to (signing them to extensions) and I've talked to I believe all the players (and) their agents this summer," Adams said. "We're always open. We've done it before, but we've also gone the other way. Right now, I wouldn't anticipate that we'll go down that road this summer, but we could change. It's always about what's right for us and what's right for the player."

Luukkonen filed for salary arbitration in late June, and even though Adams said he and the restricted free agent goalie were on the same page about his future in Buffalo, a one-year deal to prove-it deal is not out of the question. Peterka is a different situation coming off a career-high 28-goal season. If the 22-year-old (who could play on the top line with Thompson and Alex Tuch) has another big season, he could set himself up for a big payday as an RFA next summer.

The Los Angeles Kings faced a similar situation with forward Quinton Byfield this summer. The former second-overall pick had his first big season in 2023-24 (20 goals, 35 assists) in the final year of his entry-level contract and instead of bridging the 21-year-old, the Kings signed him to what many considered a bargain five-year, $31.25 million contract ($6.25 million AAV). The deal was considered a smart compromise for the Kings since they got Byfield (who could be LA’s #1 center at some point during that deal) at a reasonable cap hit in exchange for a shorter deal that allows the big forward to be a UFA at 26.

The Sabres may want to get Peterka extended to a seven-year term as they did with Thompson, Cozens, Samuelsson, and Power, and may not be concerned as much with paying more since they have no issues with room under the salary cap, which may explain why getting a deal done this summer is not a front-burner issue.