Maple Leafs were reportedly involved in JJ Peterka trade talks

The Toronto Maple Leafs were reportedly involved in the sweepstakes for forward JJ Peterka, according to The Athletic’s James Mirtle.

Leafs had been in the Peterka trade talks. Probably don’t have a package like that to offer.

— James Mirtle (@mirtle) June 26, 2025

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

While it is unknown at the time of filing how close the Leafs were to winning the Peterka sweepstakes, it is clear that their efforts were in vain as the Buffalo Sabres ended up trading him to the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday night.

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli first broke the trade, which saw defenceman Michael Kesselring and forward Josh Doan as the pieces going the other way. The trade can also be considered a sign-and-trade as Peterka soon after inked a five-year contract with the Mammoth that carries an AAV of $7.7 million.

It is unclear what exactly GM Brad Treliving proposed to Sabres GM Kevyn Adams for his trade package, though it’s fair to wonder if defenceman Brandon Carlo would have been one of the pieces going the other way. Seravalli included the blueliner in his most recent Trade Targets Board, mentioning that Carlo’s name has come up in trade conversations recently, though the Leafs are not itching to move him unless it’s for a marquee addition up front.

Assuming Carlo was indeed the primary piece going to Buffalo, the Leafs may have likely also included a forward, and Nick Robertson would likely have been the player involved. He had made the trade request public last offseason and got into a stalemate with the Leafs that ended prior to training camp with a one-year extension. While he was able to remain in the NHL for the entire season, Robertson never became a mainstay in the lineup and was barely used in the playoffs, meaning he likely would have been open to a change of scenery.

On the surface, the hypothetical trade package of Carlo and Robertson may have been enough for the Leafs to land Peterka. But the caveat is that they would have also had to agree to the extension that he received from the Mammoth, and that part is uncertain given the Leafs are focused on getting extensions done for Matthew Knies and John Tavares.

The fact that the Leafs were involved in the Peterka sweepstakes indicates that they are looking to potentially fill the void left behind by Mitch Marner should he leave in free agency. Peterka would have been slotted in the top six and likely alongside Auston Matthews, so there was a chance that the acquisition could have paid dividends now and down the line.

Alas, we will never know how that would have played out as he is off to Utah instead. But at the very least, Treliving was reportedly in talks to try and acquire the German winger.

READ NEXT: Why the Los Angeles Kings make sense for Mitch Marner