Interest In Montreal Canadiens’ Jeff Petry Still High After McDonagh Trade

NHL Sources are confirming that interest is still quite high for Montreal Canadiens defenceman Jeff Petry as we move into the hottest point in the offseason.

Darren Dreger echoed those sentiments when he joined TSN 690 to talk about the talk around Jeff Petry‘s trade value on Monday morning. Dreger was asked whether the recent trade of Ryan McDonagh to the Nashville Predators for very little return could be a sign of things to come.

“Anytime a similar positional player is traded, you look at it, and, from a management perspective, you’re analyzing the breakdown and the return,” said Dreger in regards to how the Ryan McDonagh trade could influence a trade return for Petry. “I think you can draw some similarities with how they play the game, etc. This is a curious one, just given the remainder of term left on Ryan McDonagh’s contract. It was a complex arrangement left on the deal due to the term left on the 33-year-old’s contract.”

When it comes to the value of a player like Petry over McDonagh, Dreger stopped short of comparing the two directly, and with good reason. Although McDonagh is likely the better defenceman, his contract is more expensive than Petry’s and lasts a year longer. Further to that, unlike Petry who only has a 15-no trade clause, McDonagh had a full no-trade clause, further limiting Tampa Bay’s ability to extract any value from their trade with Nashville, due to McDonagh picking his spot. Petry has teams like the Dallas Stars or Detroit Red Wings that have shown interest in him as recently as June, and likely are soon to follow as the market for right-defencemen tightens up. The Canadiens have the ability to create a bidding war for Petry in a way that the Lightning couldn’t do for McDonagh, and they also have the luxury of time; as they can wait until July 13 after teams have struck out in free agency to make an advantageous move.

With interest in Petry remaining high, and the Montreal Canadiens having much more creative liberty than the Tampa Bay Lightning from a salary cap perspective, it could likely allow the Canadiens to get a solid return for the coveted right-shot defencemen. Dreger echoed those sentiments during his segment, stating that there will always be a market for players like Petry and his differing contract situation likely makes him even easier to move than McDonagh.

“I guess you can draw some similarities on what Montreal may get for Jeff Petry, but I don’t think it’ll be very hard to move Petry,” said Dreger when comparing the situations of Petry and McDonagh on the trade market. “Habs fans have seen the good, the bad, and sometimes the ugly in Jeff Petry’s game, but that’s not how he’s viewed, for the most part, outside of Montreal. Veteran, seasoned defencemen are always a commodity.”

The trade chatter surrounding the Montreal Canadiens continues to be heard across the league, as general manager Kent Hughes continues to work the phones in an effort to make some key moves to advance his vision for the club. It doesn’t appear that Hughes will have anywhere as hard making a trade as some would like to think.