Montreal Canadiens: Three Players Most Responsible For Habs Awful Record

Jeff Petry

It would have made sense to expect a big of a slow start from the Canadiens, but the biggest reason for their awful start is the play of Jeff Petry.

Petry was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers at the end of the 2014-15 season and played well for them. He signed a six year extension with a cap hit of $5.5 million, and got better every year during that contract.

Literally. He scored at a higher points per game every year during that contract. In his first year of that deal he scored 16 points in 51 games and in the final year of it he had 42 points in just 55 games. He blossomed into a terrific two-way defender and earned another contract extension, this one with a cap hit of $6.25 million that kicked in this season.

The problem is, he is not playing anywhere near the level of a $6 million defender.

After 21 games this season, Petry has zero goals and just two assists. It is such a colossal fall from grace for a player that scored at nearly a point per game pace last season that it is almost unfathomable.

In the past, Petry often stepped up and played his best when Shea Weber was out of the lineup. With Weber off the team for this season, Petry has played his worst hockey as a Montreal Canadiens defender.

While his offence is suddenly non-existent, Petry hasn’t been himself defensively either. Here he is getting embarrassed by Washington Capitals sniper … Nic Dowd.

The Canadiens shouldn’t be as bad as they are this season. This lineup on paper doesn’t look like one of the absolute worst teams in the league. But they are playing like it, because Allen, Dvorak and Petry have not been as good as they need to be.