Rangers may be in on JJ Peterka

In an odd trade rumor, the Rangers may be in on JJ Peterka of the Buffalo Sabres. This is an odd one because, while we know the Rangers were scouting Buffalo, Ryan McLeod was the only name that actually hit rumor mills. Peterka is already close to a point per game winger at just 23 years old. There are conflicting reports, however, as Arthur Staple says the Rangers are not in on Peterka.

If this is true, then Peterka would be a great add that can play either wing and would be another left handed shot in the top-six. The question isn’t about whether Peterka, who is going to be due a massive raise on his sub-$1 million salary this offseason, is a good player and a great target. The question is what the Rangers have that could possibly interest Buffalo.

The only thought that crossed my mind was perhaps this would be a deal centered around Chris Kreider, who is apparently still on the block. But that doesn’t make sense, and the Rangers would need to add significant pieces to make it work. Thinking out loud, perhaps they use this as an opportunity to grab a center (Mika Zibanejad?) and shift Dylan Cozens to wing. Though that would also be a silly move by Buffalo.

The JJ Peterka rumor is an odd one because it passes the sniff test for the Rangers, but not for Buffalo. If this is true, and we have no confirmation given the conflicting reports, then there is something we are all missing. Though Buffalo is poorly run, and poorly run teams make many mistakes, this would be egregious unless the Rangers send back a young player of value. Zac Jones isn’t enough, even with Kreider or Zibanejad.