It’s no secret that Jeff Petry and the Montreal Canadiens‘ relationship is all but over. Kent Hughes has gone public in saying that he is trying to trade the defenceman and of course rumors have run rampant regarding his destination.
One team in particular that keeps coming up in rumors are the Dallas Stars.
What links the Dallas Stars the most to Jeff Petry would be the fact that his wife, Julie, is a native of Houston. Therefore, having his wife closer to her family would obviously make the household all that much happier.
Furthermore, Nill is no complete stranger to Petry. Nill’s son Trevor played with Petry during their days with Michigan State and it is said that the son pushed the dad hard to try and put some pressure on the Detroit Red Wings to draft the Michigan native. Petry of course got drafted by the Edmonton Oilers.
That aside, what would a return a return for the Canadiens even look like? The Stars are in a weird limbo where they can compete if they add the right tools but they might also crash completely if they make the wrong moves. It’s all kinds of awkward now.
First and foremost, the case of pending UFA John Klingberg needs to be settled. Once he decides he will not sign with the Stars, then we can draw up a trade.
Then it will all come down to what makes sense for both teams. Nill will likely ask for goaltending help to back up young up and comer Jake Oettinger and since Cayden Primeau is off the table for the time being, you can bet that at his salary, Nill will be salivating at the idea of adding Jake Allen for so cheap.
So maybe if a package of Allen, Petry and maybe someone in the realm of a Ryan Poehling can land you a decent prospect.
Maybe.
The name of Mavrik Bourque and Antonio Stranges were heard in rumblings but it’s all doubtful. Nill has a reputation to try and keep his 1st round prospects so that becomes unlikely.
Relieving the Stars of Anton Khudobin might allow the Canadiens to sneak in a draft pick. Possibly even look at a prospect like Nicholas Caamano or Matěj Blümel now that he is finally coming over this side of the pond.
Unless of course Denis Gurianov is suddenly made available. Gurianov is set to hit restricted free agency after next season and is capable of being Alex Kovalev one night and of a human pylon the next. He’s hit 20 goals twice already in the NHL and at 25 can still grow and is still a risk consider taking.
The rumors and speculation won’t go away anytime soon. Regardless of how or if this trade goes down, it’ll be a complicated matter to fit Petry’s salary without the Canadiens taking some kind of loss. Which during a rebuild, you just have to accept that some trades are made to lose on paper, but will ultimately lead to a win down the road.
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