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Montreal Canadiens: Three Potential Jeff Petry Trades

By Ken MacMillan

MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 9: Jeff Petry #26 of the Montreal Canadiens fires a slap shot against the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL game at the Bell Centre on January 9, 2020 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 9: Jeff Petry #26 of the Montreal Canadiens fires a slap shot against the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL game at the Bell Centre on January 9, 2020 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Montreal Canadiens
MONTREAL, QC – FEBRUARY 7: Joel Armia #40 annd Jeff Petry #26 (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Winnipeg Jets

I don’t think a team has ever had as much turnover at one position as the Winnipeg Jets did at right defence over the summer. They traded Jacob Trouba to the New York Rangers, they lost Tyler Myers to the Vancouver Canucks in free agency and then Dustin Byfuglien sort of retired but still wants them to pay him? Or something like that. He certainly hasn’t played any hockey for the Jets.

That is the entire right side of their defense from a team that was a Stanley Cup contender for the past two seasons. The Jets have been using a rotation of Neal Pionk, Dmitri Kulikov and Sami Niku on the right side this season.

Clearly, it is a step down from what we have seen in Winnipeg in the past. The Jets are in a fight for a playoff spot in the western conference, but could use a little help. Their most glaring need could be filled by Jeff Petry and he could even jump on their top pairing with Josh Morrissey.

In 2018, the Jets traded their first round pick for Paul Stastny. Last year they traded it for Kevin Hayes, though they reacquired it in the Trouba deal. With a Stanley Cup worthy group of forwards and an outstanding goaltender, why wouldn’t they trade it again for a defenseman?

The Canadiens could also use a few more defensive prospects to add to their system. Left defence has been their biggest need for a few years, but if Petry is traded, right defence doesn’t look extremely deep either.

The Jets have several interesting prospects on the blue line and the Canadiens would look to grab one like Leon Gawanke. The German born left defenseman is adjusting to his first pro season just fine with the Manitoba Moose. He showed some offensive potential during his Junior career with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and was a fifth round pick of the Jets in 2017.

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