You may not be familiar with the day July 22, 2022, and I don’t blame you,
but on the afternoon of that day, the Habs completed a deal with the Penguins to send Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling to Pittsburgh.
At the time,
the Penguins were happy to get their hands on a defenseman who could help the club’s power play.
After all, yesterday, Kyle Dubas worked hard to trade the former Canadiens defenseman. The objective is simple: Dubas is trying to rejuvenate his roster, which already relies on a few aging players in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kristopher Letang
…
And let’s just say that Petry’s performance in his first year in Pittsburgh didn’t help the main interested party’s cause
.
Big day. Lots percolating. Here’s the latest: #GoHabsGo weighing as many as five offers for No. 5 overall pick.#pens Petry, #LGRW Zadina, #SeaKraken Geekie, #GoBolts Bogosian and #TimeToHunt Duclair all added to the board.
Top 50 Trade Targets🎯:https://t.co/1xaVbEHjbq
– Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 28, 2023
The word around the NHL right now is that Petry has slowed down in recent years.
This isn’t necessarily a surprise, because his offensive production has plummeted since the excellent season he enjoyed in 2020-2021 (42 points in 55 games). He claimed 31 points, including five goals, in 61 games last year with the Penguins.
In reality, we’re not talking about dreadful production. But the Penguins were expecting more, given that Petry earns $6.25 million per season
.
In the text above, Frank Seravalli mentions the possibility of him landing in San Jose. It makes sense, I think, when you consider that Erik Karlsson is expected to leave the Sharks this summer via trade.
Petry would have the opportunity to get some good playing time in California, and he could provide some help to the young defensemen growing within the organization. The Sharks could use the right-hander to simply replace Karlsson at the blue line and on the power play
…
Even if there is a considerable gap between the two defensemen’s natural talent.
All this to say that Petry’s future in Pittsburgh seems more uncertain than ever, and we shouldn’t be surprised to see him traded this summer.
It’s
funny to say, but meanwhile, in Montreal
…
The Habs have the luxury of being able to count on Mike Matheson for another three years at $4.875 million a year
.
I think it’s safe to say that Kent Hughes won this deal hands down.
In gusto
– I think so too.
Friedman on TJMS: “I think New Jersey is going to be a really, REALLY tough team to beat next year. There’s going to be a lot of people picking Jersey to win the Cup depending on what they do in goal”.
– NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) June 28, 2023
–
Of note:
Because it’s a long day right now, we can think about this:
2024: Macklin Celebrini, Cole Eiserman & Aron Kiviharju
2025: Michael Misa & James Hagens
2026: Gavin McKenna#NHLDraftFuture
– Stephane Leroux (@StephRDSJunior) June 28, 2023
–
Where will he end up?
Interview this morning with Ethan Gauthier the highest ranked player in the #QMJHL this year @PhoenixSherbroo @VoltigeursDRU #NHLDraft2023 https://t.co/ZP2pJktpLF
– Stephane Leroux (@StephRDSJunior) June 28, 2023
–
Not crazy.
An added attraction for the #CH to possibly trade the 5th pick in the draft to the Flyers: They can take a bad contract in the deal, like a Mike Hoffman or a Joel Armia.
Not as a main argument, but as a “little extra argument”. #NHLDraft
– Marc-Olivier Beaudoin (@MOBeaudoin1) June 28, 2023
– It’s
true.
I’ve covered every #NHL draft since 91.
I don’t remember a prospect in a particular context like Matvei Michkov where everyone seems to be in the dark.
As if everyone wants someone else to take him so they don’t get stuck with THE decision!
– Stephane Leroux (@StephRDSJunior) June 28, 2023