On Tuesday, the panel of TSN Insider Trading spent some time looking at the reports Jeff Petry is available in a trade out of Montreal. Saying that teams have been notified that Petry is available, Pierre LeBrun also adds that the team isn’t willing to simply give the defenseman away or sell low in any potential deal.
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LeBrun explained that new GM Kent Hughes had spoken to a number of his veteran players to get the sense of where they were in the changing of things as it pertains to the Canadiens. In his one-on-one meeting with Petry, it is believed that the veteran d-man would welcome a trade. LeBrun suggested Petry wasn’t going to be the easiest player to move since he’s got three more years on his deal at $6.25 million per season. That said, one league source suggested the Dallas Stars might be a team that is interested.
LeBrun says the theory with the Stars is that if John Klingberg is moved (which most believe he will be), the Stars can turn around and acquire Petry for less of a yearly salary and land a player who is locked in and would immediately slot into the team’s top-two on the right side. The catch for the Stars — and any other team inquiring — is that the Canadiens have said they don’t have to move Petry and they won’t at a discount simply because he’s struggling this season.
Any team that wants Petry is going to have to step to acquire him. That means paying close to full value on the trade and not expecting the Canadiens to retain salary in a deal. Obviously, if a trade can be made that the Canadiens really like, all of that is negotiable, but the Canadiens are not approaching this situation with the expectation that they’ll need to take a big hit here to move this player.
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