Josh Doan, Michael Kesslering ready to find solutions with Sabres
Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring made it clear: They want to be part of the solution to help the Buffalo Sabres become a contender.
Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring made it clear: They want to be part of the solution to help the Buffalo Sabres become a contender.
It’s a tough equation to solve at first glance. The Sabres haven’t made the playoffs since 2011, finishing no higher than ninth in the NHL’s Eastern Conference and fifth in the Atlantic Division in the last 14 seasons. The Sabres traded JJ Peterka, a forward projected to be one of the team’s up-and-coming offensive threats, to acquire Doan and Kesselring from Utah early Thursday morning.
Former Utah Hockey Club right wing Josh Doan, right, celebrates his goal against the Capitals on Feb. 9 in Washington. Nick Wass, Associated Press file photo
Doan, a 6-foot-2 forward, and Kesselring, a 6-5 right-handed defenseman, head to Buffalo as a tandem. They were roommates with the Utah Hockey Club, and became part of one of the first major trades before the start of the NHL draft on Friday and free agency on July 1.
“Coming in and trying to help find a solution is always fun, because there’s a way to go up and a way to go down,” said Doan, who played with Kesselring on the Arizona Coyotes before the franchise relocated to Utah last year. “The group here is finding its way and going in an upwards direction. You look at where Arizona was and how you’ve got to see that, for a little bit. I think it’s the same, but not the same; there is an element that this group wants to win and pay money to win, and the ownership wants to win here, and Arizona lost a little bit of their ownership for a while, with what they’re doing.
“This group is going in the right direction. They have the right guys to go in that direction and it might be one or two pieces or a couple more to fix that, and I think that’s what they’re trying to do.”
Neither Kesselring nor Doan showed any hesitation about joining the Sabres.
“I want to succeed here,” Kesselring said. “Just talking to Tage (Thompson) about it, Tage had nothing but good things to say about Buffalo, and I think the potential of the team is huge. It’s just about finding my fit on the team and keep earning that opportunity every day. I’d love to stick around.”
Doan, 23, has a familiar NHL name. His father, Shane, played in the NHL from 1995-2017. The right wing was as known for his chippy, physical game as he was for being one of the Coyotes’ longest-tenured players. Shane Doan spent his entire career with the franchise, relocating with the franchise from Winnipeg to Arizona in 1996.
Josh Doan wants to bring a level of leadership and a strong work ethic to the Sabres. He also wants to improve his offensive production, as well as his two-way play.
He scored seven goals with 12 assists and was minus-2 in 51 games with Utah, which officially earned the nickname Mammoth in a fan vote announced in May. He split 2024-25 between Utah and the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League, where he scored 11 goals with 15 assists and 22 penalty minutes in 28 games.
But he will say this: There are moments when he can become his father’s son.
At the NHL level, that has yet to be fully seen. He had only eight minutes in penalties this season with Utah.
On a team that needs a higher level of grittiness, this is where Doan can forge his spot in the Sabres' lineup, by finding opportune times to take after his father.
“That’s something I want to bring to the table, to be a nuisance on the ice and go to the dirty areas, go to the hard areas,” Doan said. “The most fun way to play hockey is being a little bit of a pest on the ice and finding yourself around the front of the net. He laughs all the time that there are a little bit of differences in our game, but the older I get, the more it kind of bounces back to being a similar player to him, and I take a ton of pride in being someone who’s similar to him.”
Kesselring, 25, also brings that brand to the Sabres, a team in need of aggression. Think back to a quick fight he had against Sabres left wing Beck Malenstyn in Utah’s 5-2 win Dec. 7 at KeyBank Center -- a game in which he also registered a goal and an assist, also known as the "Gordie Howe hat trick."
“I’m not the biggest fan of fighting, but I like to think I’m a good teammate, a good locker room guy, and when it has to happen, it has to happen,” Kesselring said. “I’m 6-5 and I’ve got to stand up for myself or my teammates, so it’s something I’m not afraid to do, for sure. I think there’s a lot of value in that in hockey today.”
Former Utah Hockey Club defenseman Michael Kesselring, right, punches Maple Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit on March 10. Tyler Tate, Associated Press file photo
Kesselring is a bit of a hockey unicorn, a player born in South Carolina. He grew up in New Hampshire and played college hockey at Northeastern, where he and Devon Levi were teammates in 2020-21. The defenseman played his first full NHL season in 2024-25 after playing 65 games in 2023-24, and had seven goals, 22 assists and a plus-4 rating in 82 games for Utah.
He found he could play any spot among Utah’s top six defensemen, and was steady when he filled holes in the lineup due to injuries. He can firm up Buffalo’s top four defense pairings, particularly as a right-handed shot to complement either Rasmus Dahlin or Owen Power.
Kesselring said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff gave him some advice, with a wry dose of humor.
“He was joking with me today, saying, ‘Camp will be hard,’” Kesselring said. “I said, ‘That’s no problem, I’ll come in shape.'
“I’m coachable. I want to get better. That’s the thing with me. I’ll put the work in. So, as long as I earn my chance, it will go well.”