The Boston Bruins have turned a strange offseason habit into a full-blown pattern: whenever they can, they keep finding former Buffalo Sabres.
That trend picked up again with the signing of Josh Bloom, a former third-round pick by Buffalo in 2021, to a one-year, two-way contract. Bloom has not made his NHL debut yet, and there’s little reason to expect that to change this season. Last year, he bounced between the ECHL and AHL, and even in the AHL he split time between the Bakersfield Condors and Abbotsford Canucks.
He joins a Bruins group that already had several ex-Sabres in the mix. Casey Mittelstadt, Nikita Zadorov, and Henri Jokiharju were all on Boston’s roster last season, and the new arrivals this offseason have only deepened that connection.
The Bruins made separate trades for JJ Peterka and defenseman Will Borgen, signed free agent Connor Clifton, and also brought former Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams into their front office. By the time Opening Night arrives, three of Boston’s six defensemen could be former Buffalo players.
Peterka’s move has been one of the more surprising twists in all of this. Buffalo traded him to the Utah Mammoth last summer for Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan, and while Kesselring has already moved on, Doan has become a major part of the Sabres’ future after signing a seven-year deal in January. The Mammoth, meanwhile, expected Peterka to make a bigger leap after acquiring him and quickly locked him up on a five-year, $38.5 million contract.
Instead, his production dipped. Peterka went from 68 points in his final season with Buffalo to 47 with Utah.
Even Peterka admitted the trade caught him off guard, according to Michael Augello with The Hockey News.
"It was a huge surprise. It was like one of those things I never expected," Peterka said during the NHL/NHLPA European Media Tour earlier this week.
"I was watching the draft. I was actually surprised.
I got the call, and I was like, 'okay, good to know'. It was like shocking at first, but (I'm) super excited after just seeing like who's (on the Bruins)."
The Bruins and Sabres won’t see each other right away. Their first meeting isn’t until January 5th.
But the schedule still sets up plenty of chances for this storyline to matter later. Boston and Buffalo will face off three times in the Sabres’ final nine regular-season games, which could make this collection of ex-Sabres a factor when the standings tighten up.
In Other News...
Former Sabre JJ Peterka Just Created A New Buffalo Debate
JJ Peterkas path has already taken him from Buffalo to Utah and now back into the conversation around the Sabres after another major move. The 24-year-old winger, who was traded out of Buffalo one year ago, has now been dealt from the Utah Mammoth to the Boston Bruins, a transaction that immediately lit up another round of what-could-have-been debate for Sabres fans.
Peterkas next stop gives him a chance to reunite with some familiar faces from his Buffalo days, which at least softens the landing as he heads to Boston. He sounded surprised by the move and is approaching the change with optimism, but for the Sabres the storyline is less about where he is going now and more about how often his name keeps circling back into the conversation in Buffalo. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Just Became The Goalie Contract Benchmark Fans Need To Watch
Joel Hofers rise in St. Louis has quietly turned him into one of the more interesting young goalie cases in the NHL. After taking over as the Blues starter last season and backing it up with strong numbers in 46 games, he has moved from promising depth piece to a legitimate part of the teams core, which is exactly why his next contract is drawing so much attention around the league.
For Buffalo fans, the part to watch is how the market treats a young starter with upside when a club is trying to lock him in before the cost climbs further. Hofer is a restricted free agent after this season, and the Blues could face the kind of contract decision that has become harder to navigate in a league where offer sheets are no longer just a theoretical threat. St. Louis has dealt with that landscape before, and the way it handles Hofer could help define the goalie market for teams like the Sabres looking ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Now Face One Uncomfortable Devon Levi Question
Devon Levis exit left the Sabres making another clear statement about where their goaltending plans stand. After an impressive AHL track record, Levi had slipped out of favor in Buffalo, and the club moved on by claiming another goalie off waivers before dealing Levi and a draft pick to Edmonton for a better pick in the future. It was the sort of transaction that says as much about organizational priorities as it does about the player involved.
Now Levi gets a fresh start with the Oilers, where he will compete for the starting job, while Buffalo continues reshaping a roster that has been changing in other spots too. The Sabres have also been working to account for the blue-line holes left by recent trades, and the next layer of the conversation is whether the pieces they brought in can steady the defense while the crease picture keeps getting more complicated. [Read more 🡒]