Jeff Petry hits trade market with surprising value and response

It was reported earlier this week that Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry has demanded a trade. The veteran blue liner is in the midst of an absolutely BRUTAL season both personally for himself and for the team as a whole. The native of Ann Arbor, Michigan has just one goal and six points in 37 games after putting up 40+ points for four consecutive seasons. He managed 12 goals and 42 points in just 55 games last season! But, under new head coach Dominique Ducharme, it’s clear that Petry has lost his confidence and, ultimately, his spot on this team.

With the Habs looking to rebuilding under new management and with Petry still left with three years on a deal that pays him $6.25 million it’s clear that there’s no longer a fit for him in Montreal.

“I would say we’re viewing it as we’re open to everything,” new GM Kent Hughes said when asked about trading Petry earlier this week. “We don’t feel this immediate need to get everything done at the trade deadline,” he added.

When discussing Petry’s trade value on Tuesday, insider Frank Seravalli revealed that while many expected that the defenseman wouldn’t be easy to move, it sounds like teams are getting into the mix. This is how Seravalli explained it all on The Daily Face-Off Ice Breakers:

“I think the market for Jeff Petry, I think is a little better than people might realize. They look at the term remaining – three years at $6.25 million.

“Just talking to some in the scouting community that have watched Jeff Petry this closely this season. Obviously, it’s been a disaster in terms of production. But there’s certainly some personal, off-ice issues going on that their new GM Kent Hughes alluded to. His family, Petry’s family had moved back to the U.S. because of the coronavirus restrictions.

“That certainly can impact a player. This is a guy that had 170 points over the last four seasons. In talking to some of the scouts, they’ve said that Jeff Petry just didn’t wake up this season and all of a sudden forget how to play hockey.

“I think there’s some hope that Jeff Petry can rebound. They’re thinking that probably a fair market value, in terms of what that contract might look like as a right shot moving forward, given the productivity in years past, is somewhere closer to three years times $5 million.

“There may need to be some money that the Montreal Canadiens eat or another contract that goes back their way that might alleviate some of that.

“I just want to read you a quick message from a director of pro scouting about Jeff Petry this season: ‘Still effective at driving play. Can still skate, competes well. Relatively durable. Offense can be dependent on teammates. They haven’t scored much this season, but all signs point to the same guy not scoring in the traditional sense, but still very much positively contributing to this team.’

“It’s something we’ll have to wait and see.”

This is quite surprising since - when you look at him on paper, Petry is nearly 35 years old and has been absolutely AWFUL this season and he’s got three more years at a big cap hit left.

But if Seravalli tells us to wait and see, we will be watching as the trade deadline approaches.