Roster moves are in a holding pattern because the Penguins do not have a front office. Eventually, they will have a front office and they will be making some decisions on the player personnel. One of those decisions will have to be made on Jeff Petry, Ron Hextall’s’ 6.25M acquisition last summer. Petry has two more years remaining on the contract. The Penguins will have to evaluate his worth to the roster. His cap hit sticks out at 6.25M. Is the contract moveable? Is it a problematic contract for the team?
Overall it never really felt like Jeff Petry got going with the Penguins this year. He had stretches of injuries which derailed progress over the course of the year. When watching him play he didn’t feel like a difference maker, at least not a 6.25M difference maker. He was the big piece that was supposed to revamp Hextall’s defense unit. Between Petry and Jan Rutta things just cost more and there was no appreciable gain to the team’s effectiveness.
At the same time I don’t think Petry’s overall results were as problematic as some have made them out to be. Dare I say, he was… fine. When you pick through Petry’s underlying numbers it shows a competent player, an overpaid player, but a competent one.
Petry finished the season with an xGF% of 53.94 at 5v5. He had 31 points in 61 games. He had a 5v5 points per 60 of 1.10 which was 34th among 148 defensemen who played 1,000 minutes last year. It might not have felt that way, but he was at worst an average player last year. There’s an argument he was above average even if it didn’t quite feel that way.
I’m more than willing to explore moving his 6.25M cap hit. It makes a lot of sense to do so. The issue would be replacing him. Not because it is an impossible task, but when you are talking UFA’s they usually want money and term while being in the 30 year old range or older, basically what Jeff Petry is. First, can you find a taker for Petry? Second, can you get better value than you are already getting? If you can than sure, make it happen.
Given that Petry’s xGF% and point totals are still decent enough I think you might be able to trade him. For example, perhaps to a team like Anaheim that has almost no defensive depth and a lot of cap space. Let’s say you can pull it off. Then what? I have a couple paths the Penguins could consider if they can move Petry.
The first is trying to recreate the Jeff Petry situation with less or similar term and a lower cap hit. I think you could come close with a player like Kevin Shattenkirk
Anaheim was the worst team in the league. It wasn’t a walk in the park to play for them this year. Shattenkirk had a points per 60 of 0.92. His xGF% was an eye popping 42.02. It looks awful. Then you realize Anaheim’s team xGF% was 39.86. This was the first time since the 2014-15 full tank Buffalo Sabres that there was a team in the 30’s. I think it is entirely plausible Shattenkirk could jump onto a team like the Penguins and do a good enough job. So there’s one option.
Another option would be John Klingberg. He bet on himself this year and it did not go well. His perception took a big hit because he was on a very bad Ducks team. He had 33 points in 67 games which is pretty close to what Petry’s production was. His points per 60 was 1.01 at 5v5.
His defense is completely lacking. I’m more interested in the offensive ability. The Penguins tried to go the get bigger and tougher to play against route and it stunk. Just lean into the offensive side of things. I don’t think Klingberg has the leverage or perception he used to. You might be able to swoop in and get some value there.
The reason I’m focusing on UFA’s is because the Penguins don’t have a ton of assets. I think Petry is serviceable and to throw assets away to fill a hole they already kind of have filled makes solving the other glaring issues with the team a lot harder. Petry isn’t optimal value. He also isn’t on the top of my to do list. His season was probably a little better than people thought it was. The thing is you can multi-task as a general manager. You can focus on the big items and the smaller ones. So yeah, if you can upgrade the value on Petry’s roster spot, do it. There are at least two free agents that make some sense. If you can’t, you’ll have an overpaid serviceable top four defenseman.
Thanks for reading!
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