|
In Hainsight: Petry’s Second Stint in Montreal Was a Short one |
|
|
|
|
|
Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
Nobody really thought that Jeff Petry would start the season in Montreal. A year after requesting a trade and being traded out of town to the Penguins, Petry found himself back in Montreal but on paper only. When Hughes struck a deal with Kyle Dubas, his main goal wasn’t to add to his team, but to make room for his young forwards. The deal was possible because Montreal wasn’t one of the 15 teams on Petry’s no trade list, but as soon as it was concluded, Hughes reached out to him to let him know that he’d be doing everything in his power to send Petry elsewhere.
In his media availability, Hughes said that he didn’t try to squeeze as much value as he could from yesterday’s deal with the Red Wings, he really wanted to move the defenseman quickly so that the Petry family could get settled in their final destination, find a home and enroll their kids in school before it started. In the end, Hughes sent Petry to Detroit while retaining 50% of his salary in return for right-shot defenseman Gustav Lindstrom and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2025 (it will be the later of Detroit or Boston’s pick).
Lindstrom was drafted in the second round, 38th overall of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The 6’2’’ defenseman has played part of 4 NHL seasons with the Wings and in 128 games, he’s scored two goals and added 23 assists for 25 points. While he was drafted quite high, today, Lindstrom is a fringe NHLer who only suited up for 36 games last season, although he was injured a couple of times.
While some find the return for Petry underwhelming, it must be put in context. The Penguins just spent over a month trying to move him to clear cap space to get Karlsson without finding any takers. Hughes had the advantage of being able to move him at a reduced rate since the Pens retained 25% of his salary and the Habs further retained 50%, but getting some much-needed right-handed depth on the blue line and a draft pick is still a win for a player that was essentially a cap dump from Pittsburgh.
In his media availability, Hughes acknowledged that he basically did Petry a favor by trading him to his hometown team, but since he had already gotten what he needed in the Hoffman and Pitlick trade (space up front), there was no need to haggle for long with Yzerman. Furthermore, Hughes is hoping that by doing right by his former player, other players will notice and that will make Montreal a more attractive destination for free agents or trade targets.
Interestingly, Hughes also said yesterday that he believes the Canadiens feel they can enter the season with Carey Price on the roster and then put him in-season LTIR, which would provide them with operational flexibility. However, as things stand, the Habs are over the cap, which means there are probably more moves in the work. According to Cap Friendly, Montréal is currently $3.7 million above the limit, moving Jake Allen without retaining salary would fix that right up, although I doubt that’s feasible but hey, I didn’t think he would manage to get rid of Hoffman and he did.
Last night, the Red Wings announced that Petry would be wearing number 46 this upcoming season, just like his dad did when he played for the Detroit Tigers in the MLB. I know some have gone sour on Petry because of the way his tenure ended in Montreal, but at the end of the day, he played very well for the Canadiens over the course of eight seasons and it’s nice to see him end up in his hometown where his dad played for eight years. At nearly 36 years old, the end is near for Petry and if it ends like this, it will be a storybook ending.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»