Montreal Canadiens Have Many Options For Jeff Petry’s Future

Now that the dust from the Jeff Petry/Erik Karlsson trade has settled, it’s time to evaluate some of the options for the Montreal Canadiens going forward.

On the surface, the mere fact that the Canadiens have not mentioned Petry other than in the original press release has led many to believe there’s an impending trade.

Of course, it could very well be that the majority of the Canadiens staff is currently taking some well-deserved vacation time, or that general manager Kent Hughes is not done cooking, but for now, Petry is once again a member of the Canadiens, leaving the team with several possibilities as to his future with the franchise.

Retention Angle

Seeing as Petry’s salary already involves a 25 percent retention by the Pittsburgh Penguins, he will only account for $4.689 million of the salary cap, rather than his original $6.25 million salary cap hit.

That alone makes Petry a much more interesting proposal for teams looking to improve their defensive depth.

Add to it the possibility of retaining more salary, and Petry suddenly becomes a very interesting trade chip.

If the Canadiens retain 25 percent of his salary, his value becomes very clear. If they choose to retain 50 percent, suddenly he becomes an incredibly valuable NHL defenceman due to his $2.35 million cap hit.

Now, I can already hear some Canadiens fans scoffing when I mention his value, but let’s be clear: the rumours of Jeff Petry’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.

There’s no doubt his numbers under Dominique Ducharme were rough. But that was the case for the entire roster, not just Petry.

Consider this: while coached by Dominique Ducharme, Petry managed to control 49.3 percent of the shots, 41.8 percent of the goals, 46.8 percent of the expected goals, and 45.1 percent of the high-danger chances. Those are terrible numbers by Petry’s standards, and yet, sadly, they were still among the best numbers produced by defencemen during Ducharme’s tenure.

Once Martin St-Louis took the helm, Petry controlled roughly the same amount of shots, though he did enjoy a slight increase (50.2 percent). Beyond the shots, things changed significantly. With Petry on ice, the Habs had a 54.6 percent advantage in goals, a 53.1 percent advantage in expected goals, and a 51.2 percent advantage in high-danger chances.

In fact, the pairing featuring Petry and Bret Kulak was far and away the only efficient duo for Martin St-Louis to close out the 2021-22 season, one of the worst seasons in franchise history.

Just in case you’re wondering, Petry did not forget how to play hockey once he arrived in Pittsburgh. His underlying numbers were, as per usual, quite good.