Newly reacquired defenseman Jeff Petry could realistically play for the Montreal Canadiens. There’s at least a chance Petry doesn’t get traded before the start of the season anyway. There’s a significantly greater chance that, if he does play, he gets booed by Habs fans… understandably so, but perhaps unjustifiably so as well.
To be clear, it’s undeniably the right of fans to boo whomever they wish. However, they’d ideally have all the information at their disposal before they decide to mistreat others… because let’s call a spade a spade. Booing someone is a form of mistreatment, albeit one that doubles as a form of personal expression.
Jeff Petry vs. P.K. Subban
To illustrate, these are Canadiens fans, who are generally speaking incredibly passionate. However, there’s a flipside, as that passion can sometimes come across as irrational behavior. Look no further than P.K. Subban, a one-time fan favorite, who is still beloved by many in town.
Related: No Reason for Canadiens to Reacquire P.K. Subban
Subban, now retired, was nevertheless booed upon returning to town after having been traded for Shea Weber back in 2016. More to the point, he was booed after having made every attempt to become a pillar in the community, by pledging $10 million to the Montreal Children’s Hospital.
Now, there has been idle speculation Subban was a locker-room cancer, perhaps leading to the trade and the subsequent less-than-hero’s welcome back to town. However, any suggestion his larger-than-life personality prevented teams from winning has been debunked… and not just by former teammates, but also the teams themselves, including the Canadiens, who reached the third round on two separate occasions with him in the lineup.
It’s a case of the fans judging Subban without having access to all the information at their disposal. How could they, when Subban himself argued even he hadn’t been given an official reason 16 months after the trade. He’s seemingly only recently come to terms with what he interprets as the team’s justification for moving him.
It may be the reason some suspect, i.e., Subban’s brand, but can anyone really justify the hate leveled his way based on the following: “You can’t resist me from being myself. If I’m not hurting anybody… if I’m not doing things off the ice that I’m not supposed to be doing… if I’m not committed to the team, okay, fine, but I’m not doing any of those things. If I’m making mistakes, I’m making mistakes like everybody else,” he said on The Pivot Podcast.
There’s an impressive level of self-awareness on display in the above-linked clip, even if those same detractors would probably argue something to the effect of, “it took him long enough.” Maybe that’s true, but is pursuing opportunities outside of your team really an offense worthy of being traded? Is wearing a cap with your brand logo instead of that of your team? If only everyone showed that same level of self-awareness in this instance.
Petry’s Trade Request
Some may suggest the booing in Subban’s direction was more so a sign of respect, an attempt to throw an in-game threat off his game. Fair enough, but what about in the almost inevitable case of Petry, someone who could potentially be playing for the Canadiens at the time?
Petry obviously left town under less-than-ideal circumstances, first having reportedly requested a trade (from “Julie Petry shares fond memories of her husband’s time with Canadiens,” Montreal Gazette, April 30, 2022). For some that may be bad enough to warrant jeers, even if the request was seemingly to get closer to his family, who moved to the United States out of frustration with at-the-time strict Quebec pandemic restrictions.
Of course, Petry choosing his family over the team is hard to argue with objectively speaking. However, Petry’s wife also vocally expressed frustration on social media with the situation, her personal politics, both of the governmental and language variety, ultimately clashing with those of many of the team’s fans.
So, some may see the current situation as untenable, even if those very same provincial restrictions have relaxed. However, it becomes an issue of separating the player from the spouse. Is that really so unreasonable?
Any accusation of being too quick to forgive (if there’s anything to even forgive) flies in the face of the otherwise fairly pristine seven-plus seasons Petry spent with the Canadiens. Accepting how Petry could end up playing for the Habs again is far from a symptom of a short-term memory. It’s the opposite. It’s embracing his initial Habs tenure as a whole.
Furthermore, it’s accepting how the Canadiens are in a better position to compete for a playoff spot in 2023-24, which seems to be the goal, with Petry than Mike Hoffman. If for nothing else, the fact Petry makes the Habs better on paper than they were instead with the biggest contract going the other way in Hoffman (to the San Jose Sharks in the three-team trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins) should sate the rabid fan base, at least in principle.
Petry vs. Mike Hoffman
In some ways, it’s fitting Hoffman is the contract the Canadiens dealt away. He did also go through a scandal with the Ottawa Senators when his fiancee was accused of harassing the wife of then-teammate Erik Karlsson (who was coincidentally the centerpiece of the trade for the Penguins).
Sure, the Senators did trade Hoffman. However, he wasn’t reported to be a distraction with the Florida Panthers or St. Louis Blues with whom he eventually signed as an unrestricted free agent. The Blues even tried to re-sign Hoffman before the Canadiens secured his services. The aforementioned scandal rarely if ever came up during Hoffman’s two seasons with the Habs, pointing to it being a) an isolated incident and b) not a reflection on him.
There is the supposed issue of Petry being 35 going on 36. And, to be fair, he did have a disappointing final season with the Canadiens, when he scored 27 points in 68 games. However, a lot of Habs had bad seasons in 2021-22, when they finished last. That’s not all on him.
Also in his defense, Petry came on after ex-head coach Dominique Ducharme was replaced by Martin St. Louis. He scored 21 points in his final 28 games, while scoring 31 points in 61 games with the Penguins last season (42 points in 82 games). So, his contract, which expires in 2025, should not be a concern. If it was a good contract when it was signed in 2020, it’s arguably still a good contract, especially with the Penguins retaining 25% of his salary.
Any Legitimate Regret over Petry Trade?
So, the Canadiens shouldn’t regret making the move they did. And, if Habs fans want the team to succeed on the ice, they shouldn’t either, because the team is objectively better now than it was a week ago, and, like it or not, Petry is a big reason for that.
Where does it stop, if some Habs fans refuse to move past it? Do they blame general manager Kent Hughes for making the trade in the first place, knowing full well the circumstances surrounding Petry’s departure? That would be ridiculous, as Hughes is only doing his job, trying to better the long-term prospects of the team.
Petry would arguably be doing the same, even if he is only destined to be traded. By hoping for him to fail, which is what booing entails, all Habs fans would be doing is hurting that trade value, hurting the potential return in a trade, hurting their team’s long-term prospects. Is it really worth it, just for the sake of letting one player know how you feel over something that happened literally a year ago, that only indirectly involved him? Hopefully not, for everyone’s sakes.
