The two newest members of the Sabres spoke about their trade to Buffalo on Thursday.
The Sabres shipped off young scoring forward JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth late Wednesday night. Following the trade, Peterka signed a five-year, $38.5 million deal with the Mammoth.
In return, the Sabres landed defenseman Michael Kesselring and forward Josh Doan. Kesselring is a 6’5” right-handed defenseman who put up 29 points last season, while Doan, the son of former Arizona Coyotes legend Shane Doan, had 19 points in 51 games.
Both Kesserling and Doan, along with Sabres star forward Tage Thompson, helped Team USA win gold this spring at the IIHF World Championships.
“I’m excited,” said Kesselring. “I think I’m a big guy that can move, and I think I can move two ways so there are a lot of ways I can impact the game, and I’m hoping this opportunity for me here helps me take off a little bit and I’m really excited.”
“Kess and I are really close, we’ve lived with each other for two years in a row now so we’ve gotten to know each other, and he’s someone I’ll always lean on when things happen,” said Doan. “So to go into this together is something really cool, and I think as a duo we’re really excited to come to Buffalo and help the team out.”
The blockbuster trade is a sign Sabres General Manager Kevyn Adams is open for business as he gets ready for the NHL Draft Friday night. Buffalo holds the ninth overall pick in the draft.