The Montreal Canadiens have signed defender Jeff Petry to a four-year contract extension worth $25 million. The deal carries an annual cap hit of $6.25 million and runs through the 2024-25 season.
The 32-year-old Petry has been one of the NHL’s best and most underrated defenders since joining the Canadiens. Though he was considered to be a solid player during his time with the Edmonton Oilers, he’s kicked things up a notch in Montreal, especially over the last three seasons.
He’s scored at least 11 goals and 40 points in each of the last three seasons and has been one of the bright spots for a team that has struggled in recent years, missing the playoffs in three of the last four seasons before qualifying during the 2020 qualifying round in a postseason they were likely to miss as well.
With the Canadiens proving they were capable of taking the next step during the 2020 Playoffs, however, the team has opted to lock up Petry to a relatively fair-value deal as far as cap-hit and term is concerned. Though the team will have changes on the horizon next season at the forward, defense and goaltending positions, Petry will return and remain as one of the constants.
Petry’s deal also includes a no-movement clause with a 15-team trade list to be submitted should the team ever feel the need to move Petry in the future. For the veteran, this gives him some security as far as deciding where he could play should the Canadiens decide to go in a different direction if their timeline changes in the coming years.
As it stands, though, both parties seem to be very content with their relationship and it’s hard to imagine things changing any time soon.
Busy Offseason for Canadiens
It’s already been a fairly busy offseason for the Canadiens. The team brought in Joel Edmundson and signed him to an extension and brought in a backup goaltender in Jake Allen to play behind Carey Price for the 2020-21 season.
There are rumors out there in regards to how the team’s forward group will look next season as well. Players like Max Domi and Philip Danault have had their names thrown into the rumor mill and general manager Marc Bergevin has never been one to sit idly by. He’s been one of the more active general managers on the trade front since taking the job in Montreal and this offseason has been no different thus far.
With the Stanley Cup Final nearing it’s finale and the real offseason, including the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and Free Agency Period set to kick off in a few weeks, there’s a lot of time for moves to be made.
Given the circumstances surrounding this offseason and the 2020-21 regular season due to the global pandemic that’s still ever-present, it should be one of the more interesting offseasons in recent memory, for better or for worse.
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