Not because the trade deadline has come to past and that the snow is finally melting outside mean that the Montreal Canadiens are short of rumors. Especially ones involving Jeff Petry.
Kent Hughes made it no secret that he will attempt to trade Jeff Petry in the offseason. He has confirmed that Petry requested a trade under the old administration and did not retract his demand once Ken Hughes and Martin St. Louis were in place.
According to Eric Engels, and confirmed by yours truly, the Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers have come to an agreement on the foundation of a trade involving Jeff Petry.
It’s likely Montreal will fulfill Jeff Petry's trade request in the summer, but the Canadiens defenceman has to build up his game, and his market value, over the final stretch.
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 25, 2022
Petry was on his way to doing that until he got hurt Thursday. @EricEngels https://t.co/DaVikd6L3t
A combination of Petry’s plays, salary and early season antics makes it that his value has plummeted. If the Canadiens hope to trade Petry, this is the kind of value we are to expect.
James Van Riemsdyk has one more season left on his contract at a $7 million cap hit. The 32 year old winger doesn’t have the same impact as he once had, but playing in a shambled team led by Alain Vigneault and Michel Therrien has affected everyone in Philadelphia. Van Riemsdyk has done a tad better under Mike Yeo but the Flyers are also trending in a different direction, especially with trading captain Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers.
JVR might help the Canadiens in the short term, especially if the magic dust Martin St. Louis carries still works next year. This is the kind of veteran that could either be flipped at the trade deadline if he were to have a sudden resurgence. He has 16 goals and and 12 assists for 28 points in 65 games with the Flyers this season.
In regards to the prospect that would come Montreal’s way, it is said to be a “good prospect” but nothing “elite”. The name of Elliot Desnoyers surfaced more than once when trying to dig for information. Desnoyers was the Flyers’ 5th round pick in 2020 and signed his entry-level contract this season. A native of St-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Desnoyers currently plays for the Halifax Mooseheads where he currently has 27 goals and 33 assists for 60 points in 46 games. He also played 2 games for Canada at the World Juniors tallying 3 assists. There was also apparent talk about the Canadiens willing to take on Samuel Morin and try to salvage his career which has been decimated by injuries since day one.
The complications regarding this trade however, comes twofold. On one end, the Flyers are asking the Canadiens to retain a portion of Petry’s salary. With three years left at a $6.25 million cap hit, this will be tricky to do but Kent Hughes has shown willingness to make it work. In the end, the more the Canadiens retain, the better the prospect can be in return. That being said, it is not out of the realm of possibility that a third team can be added to the trade in order to retain Petry’s salary.
The other issue is Petry’s 15 team no trade list and you probably guessed it already, the Flyers are on that list. However, now that there are no more traces of Michel Therrien and that the right side of the blue line in Philadelphia will boast Ryan Ellis (currently on the IR) and newly extended Rasmus Ristolainen, there might be willingness to move the Petry’s to Pennsylvania. Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim complete the left side and adding the likes of Petry would certainly help with letting former first round pick Cam York to take Keith Yandle’s spot once he walks either towards free agency or retirement at the end of the season.
The ball is squarely in number 26’s court at this point. Hughes is trying hard to grant Petry’s wish and is willing to play ball with anyone who’s willing to negotiate. Now it’s up to Petry himself to decide whether or not he’s willing to move to the City of Brotherly Love.