Jeff Petry is next up in our Trade Target series, a closer look players who could be dealt leading up to the March 2nd trade deadline. Written by Peter Harling, who can be found on twitter @pharling.
Defencemen are again the hottest commodity heading into the NHL trade deadline. With big names already on the move including Tyler Myers, Zach Bogosian and most recently Cody Franson and Marc Methot being resigned by the Ottawa Senators, the pool of available players is drying up fast. Jeff Petry of the Edmonton Oilers may represent the best of the most available players remaining.
Petry is on an expiring contract with Edmonton that pays him $3.075 million and will see him hold unrestricted free agent status come July first. The 27 year-old defenceman had a bit of a breakout season in 2011-12 when he posted 25 points in 73 games. During the lockout shortened season those numbers regressed a bit as Petry only managed to produce 12 points in 48 games. Since then they have leveled out with seasons of 17 points in 80 games and 15 points in 57 games this season.
Petry is considered to be a mobile puck-moving defenceman with size and offensive upside and excellent breakout pass ability, but who needs to be more reliable and consistent defensively and play a more physical game. Despite any perceived defensive liabilities, he is a right handed defenseman who can move the puck, create some offense, has a heavy shot and comes with size. Petry is brings a physical element as he led the Oilers in hits last season with 181 but is not a heavy hitter.
It would appear the Oilers have not had serious if any contract extension talks with Petry and are prepared to trade him by the deadline before losing him as a UFA on July first (since the time of writing, the Oilers and Petry’s camp did talk). The Oilers blueline would then consist of Justin Schultz, Oscar Klefbom, Nikita Nikitin, Andrew Ference, and Mark Fayne with prospects such as Martin Marincin, Darnell Nurse and Martin Gernat competing for the final roster spot. Moving Petry now would create a roster spot that the Oilers would like to see Nurse fill.
What would Edmonton want? Pierre LeBrun suggests the asking price for Petry could be a second round pick while Darren Dreger believes Petry could be part of a package for a second line centre
Who is interested? The Detroit Red Wings have been searching for a right handed defenseman for some time now. Anaheim Ducks, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Los Angeles Kings all have injuries on defence and would like to replace and add depth for the playoffs.
Petry could replace a player like the Kings Slava Voynov, Kevin Shattenkirk in St. Louis, or Sami Vatanen in Anaheim for the short term, then slide down to a third pairing for depth quite effectively. Petry cannot provide the same level of offense as the players mentioned above but would be a suitable temporary replacement and he may be the best and most affordable player remaining. While other players such as Dion Phaneuf and Keith Yandle may be available they are not rentals and have expensive contracts. Andrej Sekera and Zbynek Michalek are on expiring contracts and are affordable in that sense, but do not offer the same offensive options that Petry can. Given the market, the Oilers may be able to command a higher return than expected if the demand is desperate enough.
From Gus Katsaros of McKeen’s Hockey – First chart is cumulative (game by game) and on for the bottom chart it’s the 5-gm rolling average of shots For/against and goals for/against
