Canadiens Facilitate Karlsson Trade, Petry Returns to Habs

The Montreal Canadiens have traded forwards Rem Pitlick and Mike Hoffman to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In exchange, the Canadiens will receive goaltender Casey DeSmith, forward Nathan Lagare, and a second-round pick in 2025.

It’s also worth noting the Penguins retained 25 percent of Petry’s salary cap hit. Petry, 35, has two years left on his current contract which will pay him $6.25 million per season.

Les Canadiens acquièrent Jeff Petry, Casey DeSmith, Nathan Légaré et le choix de deuxième tour des Penguins en 2025 en échange de Mike Hoffman et Rem Pitlick.#GoHabsGohttps://t.co/EpJkEjipfG

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) August 6, 2023

The trade is part of a three-team deal involving Erik Karlsson, which breaks down as follows:

Erik Karlsson, Rem Pitlick, Dillon Hamaliuk, and a third-round pick will be heading to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

A 2024 first-round pick (Pitt), Mikael Granlund, Jan Rutta, and Mike Hoffman will be heading to San Jose.

And finally, the 2025 second-round pick (Pitt), Jeff Petry, Casey DeSmith, and Nathan Legare will be heading to the Montreal Canadiens.

The trade has been in the works for a significant portion of the summer, however, given Karlsson has a $11.5 million salary cap hit for four more years, the Penguins and the Sharks couldn’t figure out the financial details without involving another team.

The Canadiens, on the other hand, have a healthy amount of salary cap space, especially once they put goaltender Carey Price on the long-term injured reserve.

Petry spent eight seasons with the Canadiens, playing a key role for the team on the right side of the defence. His underlying numbers and raw production were fantastic, but it’s only fair to say that the Canadiens traded him away at the right time, especially since the defencemen they received in exchange for Petry, Mike Matheson, emerged as a dominant force for the team.

In 61 games with the Penguins last season, Petry scored five goals and 26 assists. Despite the criticism, it’s worth pointing out that Petry did, in fact, finish as the highest-scoring player on the Penguins’ blueline last season.