Montreal Canadiens Trade Jeff Petry To Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Penguins were not done making moves on Saturday. After trading John Marino to the Devils, Pittsburgh acquired defenceman Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Mike Matheson and a 2023 fourth-round pick.

TRADE ALERT 🚨

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The Penguins have acquired Jeff Petry (@PetryJ) and Ryan Poehling (@LilUziPoehlss) from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Mike Matheson and a 2023 fourth round draft pick.

Details: https://t.co/hcmG8iSO3C pic.twitter.com/ky0MmumR2l

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) July 16, 2022

Penguins Acquire Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling

Questions continued to get asked by the media to Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes about Jeff Petry. When was he going to be traded? If Petry was going to be traded? Hughes’s response was always one of does it make sense for the Canadiens and will it improve the team. He was not going to be pushed into a corner by Petry despite his trade request.

Well, that all changed on Saturday, July 16 when he traded the defenceman to Pittsburgh. The Penguins are getting a veteran offensive defenceman, who loves to shoot the puck and scores quite often. Even at 34 years old, Petry is still a solid defenceman. He is an average transition player and a strong rush defender. Petry became a member of the Canadiens at the 2015 trade deadline coming over from the Edmonton Oilers, the team who originally drafted him 45th overall in the 2006 NHL Draft. He played seven full seasons in Montreal, after that partial one, serving as the team’s number one defenceman at times.

During his career, Petry recorded 322 points (87 goals and 235 assists) in 803 regular season games. His best season came in 2018-19 recording 46 points (13 and 33 assists). Petry has played in 48 playoff games, including the Canadiens run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021 recording 13 points (five goals and eight assists).

In addition, the Canadiens sent Ryan Poehling, the team’s first-round selection in the 2017 NHL Draft to Pittsburgh. Nobody will ever forget his first game as a member of the Canadiens recording a hat trick and scoring in the shootout in the Canadiens win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. After that point, he struggled. Circumstances and development kept him in the AHL for stretches. Last season, he set career highs with 17 points, nine goals and eight assists). He just never lived up to expectations. Whether they were fair or not, Poehling needed a change of scenery.

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Mike Matheson Goes To Montreal

In order for this deal to work, Kent Hughes needed to get a defenceman in return as he told the media after the trade went down. Hughes was able to get Mike Matheson from Pittsburgh. Matheson has five years left remaining on a deal that pays him $4.875 million a season. Hughes was able to shed more salary cap space by sending Petry’s $6.25 million cap hit for the next two seasons to Pittsburgh.

Matheson had a career season last year in Pittsburgh on their second pair. He recorded 32 points (11 goals and 20 assists). In addition, Matheson recorded six points in seven playoff games with the Penguins. Though the Penguins did not want to trade him, Hughes insisted he was a part of the deal. Matheson can his speed to carry the puck in transition and create opportunities off the rush. He is good enough defensively to cover when things go south.

Though the Penguins were looking to get rid of Marcus Pettersson’s contract as well, Hughes did not want to take on a dead contract. That is why he went after Matheson.

Not Done Yet

While addressing the media, Kent Hughes stated he is still looking to add a right-handed defenceman along with opening up more salary cap space.

For the Penguins, Petry is the second highest contract on the team behind Sidney Crosby as general manager Ron Hextall looks to unload another contract as he gives this team a window to win another championship for another couple of seasons.