Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams made it clear at the end of the regular season that he is looking to shake things up after their 14th consecutive season outside of the playoffs and make upgrades to his roster, but one of the moves he is not looking to make is moving on from winger JJ Peterka, but according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman’s report on Sunday’s 32 Thoughts podcast, the Sabres are now listening to offers in case they are not able to agree on a contract extension.

  Peterka finished second in team scoring with 68 points (27 goals, 41 assists) in 77 games, playing mostly on the top line with Tage Thompson. Trade rumors began to circulate just before the trade deadline, when he was connected to the NY Rangers, but a deal did not come to pass. Peterka is under team control for another four seasons and could be open to accepting an offer sheet. 

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Friedman reported previously that the Sabres had indicated they were not looking to trade the 23-year-old, but in recent days their stance has changed, to being open to listening to offers from interested clubs, because of the reality that Peterka is unhappy in Buffalo and would like to play someplace else. 

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff said that multiple teams had put together significant offers for Peterka in the days leading up to the March deadline, but that Buffalo was not biting. The Sabres according to Friedman will be looking for substantial offers for Peterka, and based on what their posture has been over the last couple years, any deal for a youngster with years of team control will have to involve a player of a similar age under a similar amount of control. 

There continues to be rumors of a potential offer sheet after July 1, which has been a more popular option since the St. Louis Blues acquired winger Dylan Holloway and defenseman Philip Broberg from Edmonton last summer. The difference is that the Oilers were tight against the cap and Blues GM Doug Armstrong took advantage of that. 

Buffalo has over $23 million in available cap space this summer, and Peterka with agent Allan Walsh may not want to risk signing an offer sheet and the Sabres matching, if he truly wants out. 

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