How J.J. Peterka Could Transform Utah Mammoth’s Offense Right Away
The Utah Mammoth made several big splashes this offseason, notably including the announcement of the team’s permanent name, as well as the acquisition of winger J.J. Peterka.
Peterka’s name generated immense buzz as a potential trade candidate dating back to last season’s trade deadline, and there was significant intrigue as to where he would land as it became clear that the Buffalo Sabres would indeed deal him as their relationship with the player soured.
The Mammoth were the one to pay the price, sending solid defenseman Michael Kesselring and versatile winger Josh Doan to the Sabres before signing Peterka to a five-year contract with a sizable cap hit of $7.7 million.
Peterka, a 23-year-old German, broke out as a goalscorer in the 2023-2024 campaign with 28 that season, but he added a playmaking dimension to his game last year, upping his assist total from 22 to 41 while staying steady with 27 goals.
Adding that sort of clear-cut top-six presence would be a boon to any offense in the league, but for Utah in particular, it could enable the sort of offensive boost that could push the Mammoth into the playoff picture.
A year ago, Clayton Keller put up 90 points as the team’s primary offensive threat, with young center Logan Cooley adding 65 in 75 games in a breakout season.
Nick Schmaltz, Barrett Hayton and Dylan Guenther also looked like legitimate top six forwards, but all season long, the club badly needed another high-level finisher to add more scoring punch.
Schmaltz and Hayton each spent about half of their respective seasons playing together with a rotating cast of third wheels, and their underlying numbers were phenomenal.
They controlled 58.39% of the expected goals at 5-on-5 and 61% of the high-danger chances, but their on-ice shooting percentage together was just 7.36%, blunting their offensive output and preventing the full realization of their territorial dominance.
A solid amount of those minutes came with Keller, but be it noise, bad luck, a lack of chemistry or some combination thereof, it didn’t help. The trio had an on-ice shooting percentage of 8.61.
Keller and Cooley, on the other hand, did fairly well by underlying metrics but outscored opponents 31-18 in their 5-on-5 minutes together thanks to a 13.19 on-ice shooting percentage.
The duo of a veteran star like Keller and an emerging top-line center like Cooley feels like the foundation of a first line for a long while in Utah, and Peterka’s acquisition opens the door for head coach André Tourigny to staple a high-end finisher to his second line with Hayton and Schmaltz.
Guenther was third on the team in 5-on-5 goals per 60 minutes, and as a six-foot-one 22-year-old, he has the size, skill and room to grow to play with either of the other pairs.
Peterka, with his offense-first profile, may not seem like a natural fit for Schmaltz and Hayton’s all-around game at first, but it’s easy to see a world where moving from Buffalo’s lack of defensive structure to Utah’s abundance of it brings his 200-foot game up a notch.
The German’s actual goals have outpaced his expected goals in each of the last two seasons, and while that could certainly be spun as a red flag, his shot and offensive feel for the game make it appear sustainable.
Tourigny now has a clear divide between his top six and bottom six forwards, and he could either choose to load up the top line by putting Peterka with Keller and Cooley, or he could put the team’s newest big acquisition with Hayton and Schmaltz to give the team a second reliable scoring line.
Either way, expect Peterka to come in and make his presence felt on the scoresheet. After scoring the 18th most 5-on-5 goals in the NHL last year, the impact could be exactly what the Mammoth need to improve enough on offense to land in a playoff spot.
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