Steve Ellis: The Utah Mammoth pulled off a coup in acquiring J.J. Peterka & not having to give up…
join JJ and Alex today from noon to 3 at RGS Exteriors 4235 Farm Road in West Jordan DJ PK and we’re joined now by Stephen Ellis prospects analyst for the Daily Face Off Stephen good morning Hey good How are you doing Good How surprised were you by the news that the Utah Mammoth acquired JJ Purka and signed him to a five-year contract after the trade that sent Kessle Ring and Don to Buffalo How big how big a shock was that for you on a scale of one to 10 I nine I’d say Like I was with a couple other reporters here in LA getting ready for the draft and we all just could have stood there staring at our phones like that’s it That’s all it took to get a guy who just scored over 30 goals and 60 points Like I was just talking to some people from Buffalo and man they were depressed So to for Utah like this is an exciting moment like this is a this is a game-changing top six forward and one of the most coveted trade targets this summer and yet you gave up a guy in Josh Stone who I think is fine but not a differencemaker and then I like Kessle ring but it definitely worth moving to get a guy like Peter and plus he’s still so young so they the team is already undergoing and has been undergoing a youth movement and they get a quality player of this caliber but it really doesn’t change the timeline as far as the guys that they have that are so Yeah 100% And like the fact that they were able to to trade for him and then get get him signed to a deal and make that plan come all together It’s like that’s what makes the deal make even less sense But like Peter is like the most recent thing with him He was shocked that he hadn’t signed yet or wasn’t named to Germany’s Olympic roster because he’s such a big part of the team And when you look at the biggest emissions to the initial Olympic rosters his name was the one that was getting brought up is he’s that impactful of a player and uh the the Sabres fan it’s just been year after year watching these star guys go away with no playoff success to to go for Is there any chance that uh he had a big year and the Sabres sold high and uh there’s going to be disappointment or is he just like guaranteed man it’s it’s 68 points last year and that number is just going to keep climbing and he’s going to be the man for the next five years I don’t know if his offense is going to climb necessarily but I think it’s going to be still like in that range Like I think it was just a matter of time till we really got to see that to see this guy really kind of blow up and have this great career And you look at Clayton Keller Logan Coulie Dylan Gunther you’re going to probably keep that line together But now you’ve got a legitimate second line winner who could play with someone like Nick Schmaltz who could bring the big body or Barrett Hayden who could be the two-way threat Like I think you still want to upgrade your center depth if you can but you need a guy who could be that valuable And I think Madurka could play on the power play Like he’s I would not be surprised whatsoever if he gets 60 points every season for the next few years But you know the the fact that he sold so low on him makes me wonder like okay maybe they know something we don’t As I look at the draft relative to this trade I don’t see how one necessarily affects the other whatever they’re going to do they’re probably still going to do How do you see it Yeah I don’t think this should change anything Like I think the biggest thing was that no draft picks were exchanged in this Like that’s what was surprising given all the rumors here in LA is that the Utah would trade their first round pick at number four which I I don’t know if I would want to do that but it’s it’s something where if they’re going to to keep that pick I think they’re taking a center anyway and a center that would be ready to play in the NHL in the next two or three years and push this team forward once they’re ready to be a true playoff contender So yeah I don’t imagine it changes anything Does this change the arc for Simichev or Boot coming over Do you think one or both of them are going to end up getting a lot more ice time with Kessle Ring gone I think with with so much of Yeah for sure I think that we’re looking at him probably being more he might probably be kind of eased in maybe as a third pairing defenseman to start but I think that’s that’s kind of okay Like with those two guys in in general going from the KHL to the NHL is a big step forward and we’ve seen so many highly touted prospects try to make the jump and it take a while So I wouldn’t be surprised if they both start in the AHL With boot as a forward you know you’re looking at he he probably is more of a better top six player than than a or he’s more of a better bottom six player than a top six guy So I think that won’t change it too much Uh we’ll have to see kind of what happens there But I would not rush into the NHL right away on a full-time basis next season See go a lot of different directions and it’s just like we just got done with the NBA draft where you speculate who’s going where this team likes this guy whatever What do you see as far as Utah with that pick It feels like if they’re going to if if they’re going to keep the pick it’s going to be Caleb Day And uh he’s a bigger centerman He’s a proven winner He’s won the he just won the WHL championship but he’s also won the under 18 world championship the Helen Kretzky under 18 tournament there and the U7s Like that’s a lot of important events that he’s won that very few players could say they’ve done in their junior careers and he’s done it before he got drafted So I think that’s one that’s really exciting If they don’t take him we know they’re really excited about Brady Barton and that’s a guy who just lays it all on the line Maybe he’ll play winger in the NHL because he’s not like the biggest forward but I think that no one works harder to win an individual shift Brady Martin So if it comes down to one of those two guys that’s exciting if it’s maybe they take a bit of a surprise pick and they they go for James Hagens who when you watch him play reminds me a lot of Logan Culie um and a lot of Jack Hugh so there’s a lot of talent there but I feel like he’s going to be one of the bigger fallers just as teams try to get guys those size so I say those are the three names to look for but it feels like Denoy is going to be the guy they’re going to take Bill Armstrong’s initial reaction to getting the fourth pick was you know shock and it’s just so hard to draft that high without really suffering and got core of guys so they don’t think they’re going to really suffer for a while So I think his initial instinct was to to keep it but you can’t really go with your initial instinct because you start having conversations you find out what you can get back Now that they’ve narrowed it down to the small handful of players what do you think they could get from a veteran and what would it take to uh to pry the pick away from them What what might their options be It that’s a great question You know it’s there’s there’s definitely some good players in the market here you know do you keep the pick and maybe just hope he can get some extra cap space and and go big in free agency Like that’s what I would do Like I I’m I guess I’m a draft guy so of course I’m always at the point of like you should keep that guy But um like the fact that Purka wasn’t acquired in in this without a pick was just again shocking to me because that is the type of player you would think would cost something like that So in that case it kind of resets the whole market of what what the cost of these players going to be So at this point it feels like it’s your guess is as good as mine as who they would try to trade for Like like I don’t think a goalie gets you that I don’t think that is the right choice here Do you go out there and maybe make a bigger run at Noah Dobson Uh I know the Islanders probably would love to have another pick Uh he’s a really good defenseman out of the Islanders Um like like good enough to be on Canada’s Olympic team So like that’d be a huge addition if they could somehow swing that I don’t know if Bowen Byron would be worth that pick I don’t know if Keandre Miller would be worth that pick Like if Purka was one of those guys you would target with that So that’s why I’m starting to lean towards they might actually keep it at this point Since the team was announced to come there’s been a big buzz here in the community and this past season and their inaugural season was somewhat of a love affair uh honeymoon type thing here And you know a lot of things are happening They’re they’re renovating the arena to make it more uh compatible with hockey and all that stuff And then they got they bought a mall a portion down about 15 miles to the south where they’re going to have all this new stuff going in there So there’s all this buzz that this is the place to be if you want to play hockey right Well we’re in the middle of it but we’re not outside of it How do you think the other players in the league and their agents perceive it I I think the one thing we’ve heard is that a lot of players like visiting and they like to they just love the the fan base and they love that people are really coming together really quickly I also know a lot of NHL players love the new uniforms So that it doesn’t hurt obviously Uh I’m I’m a big fan 100% Great color combination And I think that when you look at this it’s going to be it it’s it’ll be interesting because for a while Bill Armstrong shows he can make good moves but he was never able to spend to the cap when he was with the Coyotes It it feels like this year will be different for them and they can spend You look at all the moves they made last year I think really showed that he’s willing to make the right decisions for this team and is a great GM and last night was a huge move for that I think that’s got to give some confidence for players you know going saying this free agency It’s like yeah Utah’s a legitimate opportunity For a lot of time it was Arizona is the place to try and revive your career because no one good wanted to be there In this case it’s like you look at the core of this this Utah group it feels different How close do you think these 20 and 21 year olds are to being really good But I mean what is the what is the curve for them and when do they hit their prime and how good do you think they can be when they hit it Yeah You know you look at guys like you you what 20 21 that’s when things really start to kind of ramp up Like NHL players continue to get younger and you look at the draft and it’s all 17 and 18 year olds and you mo I don’t think any of those guys are going to make it to the NHL this year But when it comes to guys at 19 20 21 you don’t necessarily need to rush them but that is the time where they start to kind of show up Like you look at Logan he’s still young He was only drafted three years ago And I think he’s going to continue to just develop and grow into his game and and become this really notable player Um so I I I’m excited to see what he could do And and the thing is like Dylan Gunther is another guy that’s going to continue getting better When you look at these young guys that they have already on the team and the young guys they’re trying to bring in through the fist down like DJ Ginla it’s all going to come together at a point where they’re all going to grow together They’re all going to be great together but the core guys the older guys are going to probably be in their peak So that’s what building through the draft can do for you where you get these guys where 27 28 29 is kind of viewed as the year like the best years of a player’s career And when you’re if that’s kind of what the timeline’s going to be for guys like Kulie and and those ones to really show up it gives them a few years to kind of get the younger guys to really show up and and become the type of players you want them to be So uh there’s still some time Well we appreciate a few minutes Stephen Thanks for joining us and talking a little trade and talking a little draft Yeah thanks so much guys Stephen Ellis prospects analyst for the daily faceoff And as you point out PK Purka is 23 If he doesn’t get any better if Stephen’s right and he peaks around 68 70 points that’s one thing But he’s gone 32 to 50 to 68 You gotta wonder is there more there Well I I I I know that Gretzky’s he’s willing to share the nickname the great one Nice This would be the great two The great two Yeah there’s going to be a great two Maybe Ovetkin should take that That was good I liked it I think Ovetchkin would just say “Okay I’m the great two.” I had no idea I was going to come up with the great two What’s your nickname The great two The great two That’s not bad You can make money out of the great two You know everybody has to be one There’s money to be made The great two Oh man sometimes I amuse myself When we come back Austin Angelus Utah Jazz president of basketball operations his postdraft thoughts You will hear them next
The Daily Faceoff associate editor and prospects analyst Steven Ellis joined DJ & PK to talk about the Utah Mammoth’s blockbuster deal to acquire J.J. Peterka from the Buffalo Sabres for Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan along with previewing the NHL Draft, which begins Friday.
