The Montreal Canadiens and Jeff Petry
Eric Macramalla (Twitter): Ah Jeff Petry…
The Canadiens can’t just give Jeff Petry away. The ask must reflect his exceptional play last season. Very tough to find a top end D. Hughes will need to ensure that teams appreciate that Petry’s play this season is a function of context and nothing more.
It remains to be seen what happens come March 21st or the summer for that matter.
More On The Direction Of Kent Hughes, Maybe?
Arpon Gasu and Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic: A scorched Earth rebuild is not likely in Montreal. It was not with the New York Rangers so do not expect one for the Canadiens.
So, who will be traded before the March 21st trade deadline? The answer is players like Ben Chiarot, Brent Kulak, and Chris Wideman are gone. Possibly, Mathieu Perreault could be as well if he can get a few games in. It is a sale here but not an Arizona Coyotes fire sale.
Players like Brendan Gallagher and Jeff Petry are not likely to be traded now. The summer could be a more attractive time to deal them perhaps. Kent Hughes knows a lot about unhappy players and clearly Montreal is one unhappy place currently.
Hughes expects to fill out a roster next season while accumulating some picks, prospects, and cap space. Who will be the next coach? That is entirely an unknown at this time. Needless to say, Hughes and Jeff Gorton are looking.
The NHL is back in action tonight, with two games to wager on.
What about Carey Price?
Jimmy Murphy of Montreal Hockey NOW: The elephant in the room has to be Carey Price at this juncture. What does Montreal do with the goaltender? His no-movement clause means he will not go anywhere until the 2022 offseason at the earliest. It will be interesting to see what happens later in 2022.
The knee keeps having setbacks so it will be some time before Hughes and Gorton can assess Price truthfully. Until he plays again in the NHL, there can be no thoughts of even speculating on the goaltender’s future.