New details regarding the Jeff Petry trade rumors.

It's hard to say that things are getting ugly in Montreal when you consider the fact that the Montreal Canadiens have won a grand total of just 8 games all season long, but somehow in spite of all the ugliness on the ice it seems things may be even worse behind the scenes.

For weeks now we have heard rumblings of a potential trade involving veteran defenseman Jeff Petry and, although the Canadiens have until now denied the fact that Petry has requested a trade, it now seems that Petry does indeed want out of the city.

On Monday morning TSN 690's Tony Marinaro reported that, in spite of what the Canadiens may have been saying to the contrary, Petry has in fact asked to be traded. According to Marinaro, not only did Petry demand a trade out of Montreal but it would seem that he made the request all the way back in mid December. That is particularly noteworthy because it lines up with some other events in Petry's life, events that also seem to point to the fact that he wants to be done with the Canadiens sooner rather than later.

"Jeff Petry asked for a trade in mid-December," said Marinaro on his radio show

It's worth noting that after a return to Michigan over the holidays, Petry's wife Julie made the decision to remain in that state for the remainder of the regular season. That is she chose not to come back to Montreal, and I suspect that was due in part to discrimination she claims to have faced in the city as well as her apparent opposition to some of the mandates surrounding Covid in Canada and more specifically in the province of Quebec. Not to mention late last night Julie Petry also called out fans of the Canadiens for harassing her and her family.

Julie wasn't shy about it either, she made the proclamation publicly through her Instagram page.

The timing here would certainly make sense if Marinaro's sources are indeed correct, and it seems that there is no longer any doubt about the fact that both Jeff Petry and his family would rather see him playing somewhere else. Whether or not the Canadiens will accommodate those trade demands remains to be seen.

It seems newly appointed general manager Kent Hughes has a serious issue to deal with early into his tenure as the Habs GM.