2nd move in less than a year for Jeff Petry as surprise trade emerges?!

Defenseman Jeff Petry might be moving again. According to Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now, the Penguins have made Petry available on the trade deadline ahead of March 3rd.

“He’s out there,” said the source close to the situation to PHN.

There is a belief that the Penguins, who need to get a move on ahead of the postseason to make sure they get a spot, are looking to upgrade their bottom six forwards and find a reliable backup goalie to improve their grip on the playoffs. The Penguins are only two points behind and have four games in hand on the New York Islanders in the first wild card spot.

They are just one point behind the Florida Panthers, slotted into the last wild card spot. The Penguins have the time to make sure they headed into the postseason this spring.

With Pittsburgh almost capped out on the salary-cap front with1.225 million in cap space now, per Cap Friendly, they need to make smart moves. Petry has two more seasons after this, with a salary-cap hit of $6.25 million and is the Penguins’ second highest-paid player behind captain Sidney Crosby. It would be great for Pittsburgh to get the space from his deal, though Petry holds a 15-team no-trade clause. Petry is a good player that would get interested on the market as he’s recorded three goals and 19 points in 40 games. But the Penguins would need to improve up front and in between the pipes first. Moving Petry would likely clear enough salary for at least one Penguins trade, large or small, to bolster their third line or get insurance in net.

Up front the Penguins could look to Arizona Coyotes center Nick Bjugstad or Anaheim Ducks’ pivot Nick Bonino back for a second stint in Pittsburgh. In net, a veteran presence like San Jose’s James Reimer and Columbus’ Joonas Korpisalo could work as they are both available.

However, would any of them be willing to take on Petry’s full salary and would the defenseman agree to move there?

GM Ron Hextall is full of surprises and keeps his cards close to his chest. Let’s see if we find out more ahead of March 3rd.

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