Going into the first round of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft on Friday night, there were questions about what the Boston Bruins and their general manager, Don Sweeney, were going to do with the 23rd overall pick. Where are they going to trade it, or where are they going to use it?
Shortly before the draft in Western New York at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, there were rumors that the Bruins were in deep discussions with the Utah Mammoth for forward JJ Peterka. As the draft was beginning, it was revealed that the Bruins and Mammoth had completed the deal, with Peterka coming to Boston for a pair of first-round picks, including the 23rd on Friday night.
Now that Sweeney has joined the league in making some big deals, let's grade this deal.
Boston Bruins: B+
Let's be honest, are you surprised that this happened? You shouldn't be. Boston needed to answer what the other teams in the Atlantic Division and the rest of the Eastern Conference did, and the rest of the Eastern Conference, in improving their rosters for the 2026-27 season.
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Peterka, who was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres, 34th overall, and in the second round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, played in all 82 games for Utah this past season with 25 goals and 22 assists, while averaging 15:59 a night. In the playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights, he struggled with zero points in six games with a plus/minus of minus-3. The Mammoth struggled as a team in that series.
This is a top-six forward and wing that the Black and Gold need. He was traded to Utah last June and inked a five-year, $38.5 million contract with an AAV of $7.7 million. He had 55 goals and 63 assists in the previous seasons with Buffalo, which ranked fourth in the NHL among all players 23 years and younger.
Utah Mammoth: A-
What does this move mean for Utah? It clears Peterka's $7.7 million AAV from their books, and they got two first-round picks. Aside from the Bruins first-round pick Friday night, they got a conditional first-round pick in 2028 from the Bruins that was the Florida Panthers, which they acquired as the return from the Brad Marchand trade last March.
After the moves made by the Panthers this offseason, the pick is top 10 protected, and there is very little chance that the pick will fall in the top 10, which is a good deal for the Mammoth.
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