The Montreal Canadiens came out in a great position after the three-team Erik Karlsson trade. They not only get players they can flip before or during the season but also got assets along with it. However, the biggest return was Jeff Petry, but it doesn’t appear that he will stay long in Montreal.
Most of the offseason’s top defencemen are off board with Karlsson traded and, the most recent signing, Matt Dumba, just joined the Arizona Coyotes, so any team that was looking for a solid top-four defenceman who is effective at both ends of the ice on the market for cheap, might now turn to the Canadiens, including the Edmonton Oilers.
The Canadiens took on Petry so that they could flip him for assets, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The Pittsburgh Penguins retained 25 percent of his contract ($1.562 million AAV) for the final two seasons, so Montreal only has him on the books at $4.687 million AAV. If they retain 50 percent of his salary when they inevitably flip him this season, it will open up a ton of possibilities to move him to a cap-strapped team like the Oilers. His contract would drop to $2.34 million AAV and be very affordable.
Eric Engels chimed in on the Petry situation on The Sick Podcast, noting, “I spoke with [the Petrys] and they are doing well under the circumstances. What happened has happened, and they know the hockey business well. They are aware that Kent Hughes will try to trade the veteran defenseman before the start of the season, but if he doesn’t manage to do so, they will come to Montreal and do everything in their power to try to turn the situation into a positive.”
Related: Oilers Made a Big Mistake Not Trading for Erik Karlsson
General manager Ken Holland should be in contact with Hughes about a potential deal. Assuming Evan Bouchard’s contract exceeds $2.34 million AAV, Petry would become the fifth-highest-paid defenceman on the Oilers while playing top-four minutes – this is also assuming Cody Ceci would be moved out to free up space.
What Value Does Petry Bring the Oilers?
If the Canadiens retain 50 percent of Petry’s contract, the Oilers would be getting player to partner with Darnell Nurse, which is sorely needed, and save a bit of money to accommodate Bouchard and get him signed in short order, giving the team more than 21 players on the roster this season.
Petry vastly improved his giveaway/takeaway ratio last season on the Penguins and, in comparison to Ceci, he blocks the same amount of shots and hits even more. The right side of the Oilers’ defence is weaker than the left, so as Petry averages nearly 23 minutes a night in all situations, he would relieve some pressure from one of the inexperienced defenders (Philip Broberg or Vincent Desharnais) on the third pairing.
Petry might be just past his prime, but he is a better two-way defender than Ceci and had a strong Corsi for percentage with the Penguins, at 50 percent, despite starting 55 percent of his draws in the defensive zone. More impressively, he had an expected goals for percentage of 54.94 and a 52.79 high danger chances for percent.
Cost & Outcome of Acquiring Petry From Canadiens
There weren’t many options to actually upgrade the right defence over Ceci for cheap until now. The Oilers might have been biding their time to see what players become available at half price at the trade deadline, but this opportunity with Petry will likely be missed if they wait that long.
Holland is likely not afraid to use a first or second-round pick to get the deal done, and the Canadiens are likely looking for something similar, especially if they retain salary and possibly take Ceci in return. However, I think the Oilers can get value from Ceci if he isn’t part of a deal with the Canadiens.
The Oilers will be upgrading their roster at some point before playoffs, and they will accrue cap space over the course of the season until the deadline if they don’t execute a trade for Petry before the season. While a trade deadline deal would likely only net them a rental, the Canadiens’ veteran would net them two full years of a solid top-four defenceman with a great cap hit. He recorded 31 points in 61 games last season despite the so-called drop-off and would have a good opportunity in Edmonton. The Oilers won’t be the only team gunning for a deal like this, so they will have to act fast if they want to get it done.
