I don’t know if Jeff Petry will start the season in Montreal, but everything is pointing in the opposite direction at the moment.
Although the Petrys have said they’ll come to the city if they have to, the defenseman hasn’t spoken directly to the media. Nor has Kent Hughes, for that matter, which suggests a few personnel moves.
But if no other transactions are made, the CH risks starting the season with a defense that looks like this:
Matheson-Savard
Guhle-Petry
Harris-Barron
Johnathan Kovacevic, Chris Wideman, Arber Xhekaj and the two third-pair defensemen will battle it out for the final spots on the 23-man roster. And with a potential rotation of three goaltenders, those spots could be limited…
Makes you wonder if another deal is in the works → https://t.co/39LViYppz1
– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) August 7, 2023
But without Petry, it would give Justin Barron the chance to stay up top and it would possibly allow Chris Wideman or Johnathan Kovacevic to avoid the ballot.
On defense, Arber Xhekaj, Jordan Harris, Kaiden Guhle and Justin Barron can all return to Laval without being exposed to any of the 31 other teams. Aside from Guhle, Kent Hughes could take advantage of this exemption to send one or two of them to the Rocket.
But if there is a deal, Marc Dumont thinks it would make more sense to trade David Savard than Jeff Petry from a “rebuilding” point of view.
Really?
#GoHabsGo Mailbag answers!
– Recent & future trades.
– The goalie situation for the Montreal Canadiens.
– Kent Hughes’ wizardry in trades.
– Why Nick Suzuki is the Spitfire of the org.
– The silence from #Habs management (re: Petry).And muchmore⬇️https://t.co/evMyur9NLL
– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) August 8, 2023
The former CH employee didn’t explain his opinion too much, however. I’m really curious why he thinks that, especially considering that the Quebecer is a good role model for youngsters (Petry can be too, sometimes). Both will become unrestricted free agents in two seasons, but the former CH 26 (who may not get his number back) has a salary footprint nearly $1.2 million higher than his teammate.
In my opinion, no, trading Savard doesn’t make any more sense. Especially since he wouldn’t bring in any more than Petry, and Dumont even says so.
In his text above, he thinks that the CH won’t receive anything very big in return for the 58’s services. And any team interested in his services wouldn’t have to have a big advanced stats team, because in recent years, the numbers haven’t been kind to the Quebecer.
It’s true that he’s played on the first two defensive pairs, even though he’s a top-5 or top-6 defenseman, but so what.
In brief
–All CH preparatory games will be presented at 7 p.m.
#NHL just released their full preseason schedule; the #GoHabsGo 2023 preseason sked is as follows:
– Sept. 25 vs. NJ
– Sept. 27 vs. OTT
– Sept. 29 vs. TOR
– Sept. 30 vs. TOR
– Oct. 2 @ TOR
– Oct. 7 @ OTT
**all games at 7pm ET**– Priyanta Emrith (@HabsInHighHeels) August 8, 2023
– Things are really bad for the White Sox.
“If he doesn’t want to be here, I’ll pay for his plane ticket.” https://t.co/KR4LQPJwAo
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) August 8, 2023
– Ah well.
Sean Payton imposes a pretty weird rule 🎣🙄 https://t.co/VtJv0pCxqp
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) August 8, 2023
– Not good news, that.
Les Alouettes | Cody Fajardo absent from practice https://t.co/Hp5vJxLAuj
– La Presse Sports (@LaPresse_Sports) August 8, 2023
– Ridiculous.
Nigerian players demand payment of their bonuses👇https://t.co/xCtUCisSqF pic.twitter.com/EBSyi0qN7e
– Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) August 8, 2023