Canadiens open to trading defenseman Jeff Petry

The headline out of Montreal Wednesday morning could simply be that the Canadiens are open to trading anyone after general manager Kent Hughes met with the media to talk about the recent Tyler Toffoli deal and what comes next for his franchise. On Ben Chiarot, there was no hiding that the Canadiens expect to trade him in the coming weeks, but another name of interest also drew an honest answer from Hughes. As Eric Engels of Sportsnet relays, the GM explained that if the Canadiens can “find a trade that works for us and another team,” they will trade Jeff Petry.

Finding that trade is obviously a difficult task given Petry’s play this year, his age and his contract situation. The 34-year-old has been a shadow of himself this season, appearing at times as if he’s completely lost the swagger and offensive upside that made him one of the most dangerous defensemen in the league the last few years. He holds on to the puck less and joins the rush less, and it has resulted in Petry recording just two goals and seven points in 41 games. That is from a player who had at least 11 goals and 40 points in each of the last four seasons, including the shortened 56-game campaign in 2020-21.

Petry was a dynamo for the Canadiens last year and was a huge part of why they went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, logging more than 24 minutes a night in the postseason. This year that play has completely disappeared, making any acquisition a risky proposition.

Even on an expiring contract, Petry’s play makes him a question mark. It’s an even tougher trade to make when he has three years left on his deal. Signed to a four-year, $25M extension back in 2020, the veteran defenseman is under contract through the 2024-25 season. He holds a no-movement clause that means he can’t be waived and a 15-team no-trade clause that will limit the number of teams that can even acquire him — or at least put some of the decision-making power in Petry’s hands. That contract also will see a salary ramp to $7.5M in each of the next two seasons, with $3M coming in signing bonuses each year. That’s not something that would seem that appealing to a contender unless the Canadiens retain money or Petry reverts to his previous level of performance.

Still, it’s obvious that Hughes and Jeff Gorton are fixing to make sweeping changes to the Montreal roster. They’ve already moved out one of their top trade chips in Toffoli, who was signed to a much more reasonable contract, and want to flip Chiarot before the deadline. If Petry is also on the move, you can probably count the number of truly safe players on one hand.