Replace Petry with Matt Dumba
The Montreal Canadiens are clearly going to be sellers. And we just suggested they move Tatar for a 2021 first round pick and Jesse Puljujarvi out of Edmonton, then move the pairing of Petry and Kulak for a first round pick from Carolina as well as two of their best prospects in Jake Bean and Jamieson Rees.
Considering the Habs already have one of the best prospect pools in the league, this would make it undoubtedly the best one. The first question anyone ever asks me when I throw out the idea of trading Petry is: who plays second pairing next year?
My answer, as you can see is: Matt Dumba. The Minnesota Wild have been selling off pieces since last year. They traded Mikael Granlund last season for Kevin Fiala and also shipped Charlie Coyle to Boston for the younger Ryan Donato. This season they moved out Jason Zucker for picks and prospects.
It is pretty clear they are tearing things down. Rumours have it they are interested in moving out Matt Dumba as well. The 25 year old right shooting defender plays a physical style but can also bring plenty of offence to the table. He was off to a great start last year before being hurt and set a career high the previous season with 14 goals and 50 points.
The Calgary native is signed for three more years following this one at $6 million. He makes half a million more than Petry so the salary implications of swapping Petry for Dumba have a minimal impact. The Wild would want a huge return, but if the Habs can get their asking price for Petry, they could basically rearrange their assets without subtracting any depth from their prospect pool.