Author of the article: Stu Cowan • Montreal Gazette
Publication date: July 16, 2022 • 2 hours ago • 4 minutes read • 27 comments Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry patrols the blue line during a game against the Winnipeg Jets in Montreal on April 8, 2021. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette

Content of the article

Defenseman Jeff Petry got his wish Saturday afternoon when Canadiens GM Kent Hughes traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with forward Ryan Poehling.

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

In return, the Canadiens receive defenseman Mike Matheson, a native of Montreal, and a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Petry asked to be traded last season for family reasons. His wife, Julie, was upset with Quebec’s COVID-19 restrictions and returned to the family’s home in Michigan with their three sons while pregnant with a fourth boy, who was born last Monday. That left Petry alone in Montreal for most of last season, missing his family. “He was very grateful, grateful to be able to go to a team — a team in the U.S. that we all know makes his life or his family’s life easier,” Hughes said during a conference call after the trade was announced. “But they’re also a team that’s going all out here to try to win a Stanley Cup.”

Advertising 3

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Hughes had maintained that he would try to trade Petry, but would only do so if it was a deal that worked for the Canadiens and would improve them moving forward. The 28-year-old Matheson, who grew up in Pointe-Claire on Montreal’s West Island, is six years younger than Petry and also makes less money, which will give Hughes some NHL salary cap space. Matheson has four seasons left on his eight-year, $39 million contract with an annual cap hit of $4.875 million. Petry has three seasons left on his four-year, $25 million contract with a $6.25 million salary cap hit. Matheson had 11-20-31 totals in 74 games with the Penguins last season and was plus-12, marking career highs in goals and points. The 6-foot-2, 188-pounder was selected by the Florida Panthers in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft. In 417 career regular season games, Matheson has 49-89-138 totals.

Advertising 4

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Thanks to Jeff for his solid eight years on the blue line, his community involvement, and sweet times with Boyd. Thank you @PetryJ for eight solid years on the blue line, your involvement in the community, and all of Boyd’s cute content. Good luck in Pittsburgh! pic.twitter.com/10q1u6il8w — Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) July 16, 2022
Matheson is a lefty shot, so Petrie’s departure means the Canadiens have one less righty at the blue line. Hughes said Mathieson is capable of playing on the right side if needed. Hughes, who was Matheson’s agent before becoming Canadiens GM, added that the defenseman is an excellent skater who will fit the way Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis wants his defenders to play. “I’ve known Mike since his Triple-A minor league days (with the Lac St. Louis Lions),” said Hughes, who also grew up on the West Island. “A first-class man. The expression you’ve always said is the kind of man you’d let marry your daughter, even though he’s married with a young baby at this point in his life. He’s a great person.”

Advertising 5

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Hughes added that Matheson will be a respected voice of veterans in the locker room who can help develop the team’s young defensemen. Petry struggled last season, going 6-21-27 overall in 68 games and was a minus-11. It was his lowest production in the past five seasons. The Canadiens selected Poehling in the first round (25th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft, but he has struggled to earn a regular spot with the team. Last season, the 23-year-old played 57 games with the Canadiens, posting a total of 9-8-17. Last season, Poehling spent the entire year with the AHL’s Laval Rocket. Poehling has one more season left on his $750,000 salary cap contract. “Having Ryan as part of the deal for (the Penguins), they felt they might need some depth at center given that the middle of the ice is definitely bigger and it gives them that security,” Hughes said of having Poehling. part of the trade. “And with the acquisition of Kirby Dach (from the Chicago Blackhawks) on our side, we’re pretty comfortable right now with what we have in the middle of the ice already with (Nick) Suzuki and (Christian) Dvorak and Jake Evans. We had a lot of forwards on one-way deals and with Ryan leaving, we felt it freed us up to bring back Rem Pitlik, who we really liked, at a number we thought was manageable, which wasn’t necessarily going to be. we had gone to arbitration”.

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Shortly after Petry and Poehling were traded, the Canadiens announced Pitlick had agreed to a two-year, $2.2 million contract, according to CapFriendly.com. The Canadiens claimed Pitlick off waivers last season from the Minnesota Wild. In 46 games with the Canadiens he had a total of 9-17-26. Pitlick became a free agent after the season, but Hughes decided not to tender him a qualifying offer, allowing the 25-year-old forward to test the market. “We like Rem Pitlick,” Hughes said. “We didn’t qualify him because we didn’t think we could take the risk of his upside. Unfortunately, a by-product of our financial or capitalization limitations. We had to let him go on the open market. With Ryan Poehling being a part of that trade, we felt we had the center depth with the acquisition of Kirby Dach that we could then go back and get Rem back to a number that we felt was manageable.” Hughes said the Canadiens saved a little more than $1 million from the salary cap with Saturday’s moves. The GM added that he will continue to look for ways to gain more salary relief as he still has to sign Dach, who is a free agent. According to CapFriendly.com, the Canadiens now have $1,248,334 in salary cap space. [email protected] twitter.com/StuCowan1

Share this article on your social network

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Sign up to receive daily news headlines from the Montreal Gazette, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

Thanks for subscribing!

A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, check your spam folder. The next issue of Montreal Gazette Headline News will be in your inbox soon. We encountered a problem with your registration. PLEASE try again

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourages all readers to share their views on our articles.  Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site.  We ask that you keep your comments relevant and respectful.  We’ve enabled email notifications—you’ll now receive an email if you get a reply to your comment, there’s an update on a comment thread you’re following, or if someone follows the comments.  Visit the Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.