Montreal Canadiens
Dallas Stars Looking For Right-Shot Defencemen, Jeff Petry Of Interest
The Dallas Stars continue to be linked to Montreal Canadiens defenceman Jeff Petry, with talks likely to pick up again this summer as the Stars are set to go shopping for a right-shot defenceman.
In his interview with Saad Yousuf of The Athletic, Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill touched on the organizational need for a right-shot defenceman going into this summer. Nill doubled down on his desire to add a right-handed shot defenceman specifically, as he feels the lack thereof created an imbalance in the lineup, forcing Miro Heiskanen to shift to his off side this season.
“I’ve always been a big lefty-righty guy. Unfortunately, with Stephen Johns, we thought he’d be a part of this but you lose him and his career is over. Klingberg’s been a big part of that and now he’s set for free agency,” said Nill on his desire to shore up the right defence position. “We know that and we’re looking to address that in the offseason, whether that’s via free agency or trades. That’s something we’re going to look at.”
This allows the Stars and the Canadiens to reopen discussions they had previously had prior to the NHL Trade Deadline in the month of March, especially with the extra fiscal flexibility the off-season affords them.
A Link Between Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Stars
Montreal Hockey Now had reported that talks had begun between the Montreal Canadiens and the Dallas Stars prior to the NHL Trade Deadline, and it appears they will likely pick back up again this summer.
In his latest post for The Athletic, NHL Insider Pierre Lebrun shared a similar opinion on the link between the Petry and Klingberg situations.
“If the Stars lose Klingberg to free agency, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Montreal pick up the phone and gauge the Stars on Jeff Petry, 34, who has three years left on his deal at a $6.25 million cap hit,” wrote LeBrun.
Montreal Hockey Now received similar information from some sources across the NHL, with one NHL executive going as far as directly linking Petry to the Stars on the NHL trade market.
“I don’t expect Klingberg back there but that can change. Still, something to keep an eye on. Petry could help, but the Stars need to figure out if they’re contenders first.”
With Nill now publicly confirming that he will look to address the right-defence position, previous discussions with the Canadiens regarding Petry are likely to pick up again.