When the offseason began for the Boston Bruins last spring, general manager Don Sweeney and team president Cam Neely both acknowledged that more talent was needed for their team in 2026-27 after a six-game elimination at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in May.
Many believed that Sweeney addressing a need with his forwards would mean adding a top-six center, but moments before the 2026 NHL Entry Draft in Buffalo, Sweeney swung for Utah Mammoth right winger JJ Peterka. After just one season with Utah, they quickly moved him after acquiring him from the Sabres the summer before.
Sweeney and the Bruins are hoping that he can have a turnaround season, and so far, so good. Sportsnet named the biggest offseason addition for each NHL team, and for the Black and Gold, unsurprisingly, it was Peterka.
Sportsnet states the obvious with JJ Peterka being the Bruins biggest offseason addition
If we're being honest, the options for the Bruins were not exactly high. There was limited turnover this offseason, with defenseman Will Borgen being acquired from the New York Rangers and fellow blueliner Connor Clifton coming back in free agency. Other than that, aside from additions from the American Hockey League (AHL), the roster has a familiar look to it for this season.
After Peterka was acquired, the writing was on the wall for Viktor Arvidsson ahead of free agency, and he left for the Detroit Red Wings. That left Peterka to fill out the top six, but the question was: where would that be? On the first or second line.
So far, he has fit in seamlessly on the first line with David Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm. The Bruins and fans got a glimpse of what he can do in the season opener against the New York Rangers in a 3-0 win on Tuesday night at TD Garden. Shortly after Fraser Minten gave Boston a 1-0 late third-period lead, Peterka broke into the zone and made a move through the legs of Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider to score an insurance goal.
In 2023-24, with Buffalo, he had 28 goals, and that was followed by 27 a year later. In 82 games for the Mammoth last season, he dipped to 25; however, if he can hit at least that in 2026-27, Boston will be very happy.
Boston sent two first-round picks to Utah for Peterka, and some believe that he can be a 30-goal-or-more scorer in a season. If Boston gets that, it'll be a trade that was well worth it, and it's still early in the season, but what an opening act for the second-round pick of Buffalo in the 2020 Entry Draft.
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