The Boston Bruins made one of the biggest moves of their offseason by acquiring JJ Peterka from the Utah Mammoth.
The deal seemed like the Mammoth were giving up on Peterka. Last year, the Mammoth sent Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan to the Buffalo Sabres for Peterka. Doan turned into a star in Buffalo, Kesselring did not. Meanwhile, Peterka just didn’t work out in Utah. The organization expected him to deliver big numbers outside of Buffalo. But that promise just didn’t materialize in Utah.
Peterka scored 25 goals and 47 points in all 82 games. While not awful, the club felt his $7.7 million cap hit got in the way of other moves they could make.
However, what seems like Utah’s leftovers could be the Bruins’ massive gain.
The idea of seeing Peterka and David Pastrnak on the same line should give opposing coaches headaches. The idea of having to defend against two game-breaking forwards will make it tough for defenders to contain.
In fact, having Peterka on the same line could allow Pastrnak to do what he does best: Single-handedly take over games. There is no question that this move has the potential to deliver a huge payoff. There is one possible downside, nonetheless.
Bruins Will Need a Center to Play with Peterka, Pastrnak
Both Peterka and Pastrnak are wingers. So, that situation begs the question: Who will play down the middle?
It seems that the most immediate candidate would be Elias Lindholm. He’s a defensively responsible center. He can also get the puck and make things happen. With two elite-level scorers, Lindholm’s skill set would be an asset.
Alternatively, the Bruins could deploy Pavel Zacha as the top-line center. Last season, Marco Sturm wanted to use Zacha as more of a winger than a center. Unfortunately, circumstances forced Sturm to continue deploying Zacha down the middle.
This season, Zacha could run with Peterka and Pastrnak. That combination could very well deliver outstanding results. While the line would be offensively-minded, it’s one that Sturm could default to when the team needs goals.
Sure, it would be nice to get a true number-one center like Dylan Larkin to play with Peterka and Pastrnak. But Lindholm or Zacha could be just fine for now.
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Peterka Could Benefit from Having Sturm as Coach
One of the biggest reasons why the Bruins likely wanted Peterka was Sturm. Peterka, like Sturm, is German. That connection is something that could help the 24-year-old rediscover that scoring touch that made him such a valuable commodity in Buffalo.
That’s why it made sense for the Bruins to target Peterka. The Mammoth wanted to unload his contract, and Boston seemed like a great fit.
It was one of those rare opportunities that an organization has to transform a player’s trajectory by pairing him with the right coach. These situations are not uncommon. So, there’s certainly plenty to look forward to this upcoming season. JJ Peterka could become the offseason’s biggest steal, allowing the Bruins to keep up with the Joneses in the Atlantic Division.
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