According to Elliotte Friedman, The Montreal Canadiens agreed to trade defenceman Jeff Petry to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins also acquire Ryan Poehling. The return includes Michael Matheson and a 2023 fourth-round draft pick.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1548385923611512834
Sounds like Emily Matheson's husband is off to Montreal.
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) July 16, 2022
Hearing #Habs are trading Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling to #pens in exchange for Mike Matheson and a draft pick.@DailyFaceoff
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 16, 2022
Jeff Petry Traded By The Canadiens
The Canadiens completed this trade ahead of the 2022 trade deadline, an unsurprising move considering their status as “sellers” this year. Petry carries a $6.25 million cap hit and remains under contract for another three seasons. The 34-year-old spent his entire NHL career between the Edmonton Oilers and then the Canadiens.
What Can Be Expected Moving On
From the trade for Jeff Petry, the Penguins receive an experienced NHL defenceman and a former second-round pick from 2006. This season, he scored just three goals and seven assists for ten points, adding 24 minutes in penalties. His new club hopes the change of scenery can inspire a return to form for the blueliner. Known for his offensive ability, this year projects to be the first since 2016-17 where Petry will fail to reach double-digits in goals.
Over his 12-year career, Petry suited up for 778 career games, scoring 305 points along the way. He started slowly in Edmonton having 74 points in 295 games. However, exploded to become a high-end defender with the Canadiens.
Petry isn’t getting any younger, though. And with multiple years left on his contract, he really needs to turn things around to make this pay off for his new franchise.
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New Penguin Ryan Poehling
Poehling, 23, scored nine goals and eight assists for 17 points in 57 games last season. He was the Canadiens first-round pick, 25th overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He projects as a bottom-six forward. Poehling is a natural centre but can also play on the wing. He is signed for one more season at $750,000.00. Poehling is set to be a restricted free agent next summer.
New Hab Michael Mattheson
Matheson, 28, put up 11 goals and 20 assists for 31 points in 74 games last season. He has played 417 career NHL games for the Penguins and Florida Panthers, scoring 49 goals and 89 assists for 138 points. He was very strong analytically. Matheson put up a 53.8 percent Corsi-For as well as a relative Corsi of +2.6. He has four years remaining with a cap hit of $4.875 million per season.
Mike Matheson, traded to MTL, really put it together for the Pens last season in a second-pairing role. Uses his speed to carry the puck in transition and create rush opportunities, but decent enough defensively to cover when things go south. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/4p0qBnXqdW
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 16, 2022
What This Means for the Future
For the Canadiens, moving on from Petry comes as no surprise. They’ve been historically bad this year, an extremely disappointing scenario considering they were just three wins from a Stanley Cup last season. However, circumstances around the team affected the on-ice product tremendously this offseason. Without Carey Price and Shea Weber, the hockey world anticipated some regression.
The regression that took place, though, surprised everyone. Petry himself fell off a cliff production-wise this year, too. Losing situations infect all involved, and that certainly seems to be the hope for Petry’s new team. If he can turn it around, he could be a solid second or third pair option. That sparks lots of options as well on the powerplay, where Petry has historically been effective. Here’s hoping the fresh start does him some good.
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