The Montreal Canadiens made their third trade involving defenceman Jeff Petry on Tuesday when they sent him to the Detroit Red Wings for Gustav Lindström and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft.
Did general manager Kent Hughes get the best possible return on the deal? Probably not.
Did he do right by a player who spent nearly eight full seasons with the organization? Absolutely.
When asked about sending Petry back to his home state of Michigan, where his father, Dan, played with the Detroit Tigers for 11 seasons, Hughes said it was “the right thing.”
“I’m a believer, in general, whether it be players or people, that you do the right thing. I called Jeff [after acquiring him from Pittsburgh] and said, ‘Listen, I know you didn’t go to bed expecting to hear from me this morning,'” Hughes explained in a press conference. “I know they, as a family, were uptight. They’ve got four young boys and they were about to start school in two weeks.”
#46.
Like father, like son. 🏒⚾️ pic.twitter.com/IsEaRWSVI0
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) August 15, 2023
“I promised him that we would work expeditiously to get him moved and that we wouldn’t drag this out to try to maximize every piece of value in the trade,” Hughes added. “I spoke with Jeff again and he was thankful.”
In giving Petry a destination he’s happy with, Hughes hopes that future players will be more attracted to joining the Canadiens. With that said, Hughes assured fans and media that the team will not go out of their way to make moves that put them at a disadvantage.
“That doesn’t mean we’re gonna do things that are against our interests but if we could, to do what’s best for ourselves and the players, we’ll always try to do that,” Hughes said. “We hope that [NHL players] take note and want to be a part of it.”
The first Petry deal occurred last summer a few months after the 35-year-old reportedly asked to be traded. As a result, he and forward Ryan Poehling were sent to the Penguins in order to acquire defenceman Mike Matheson and a fourth-round pick.
Petry was dealt back to Montreal on August 6 of this year, along with goalie Casey DeSmith, prospect Nathan Legare, and Pittsburgh’s 2025 second-round draft pick in a trade that saw the Habs give up forwards Mike Hoffman and Rem Pitlick.
Less than two weeks later, the Red Wings answered the call.
The offensive blueliner put up five goals and 31 points with Pittsburgh last season. Petry’s most productive offensive campaign came during the shortened 2020-2021 season, which saw him net 12 goals and 42 points over 55 games with the Habs.