Insider suggests Montreal could trade newly acquired defender before he even plays a game

Some major news broke in the hockey world on Sunday as Erik Karlsson was finally dealt after months of speculation, with Pittsburgh being his landing spot.

In order to get the trade done, the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks needed the help of a third team and that was the Montreal Canadiens, who acquired several assets including one of their former defencemen, Jeff Petry.

Along with Petry, who's having 25% of his salary paid by the Penguins, the Canadiens added goaltender Casey DeSmith, forward prospect Nathan Legare and a 2025 second-round pick, while Kent Hughes parted ways with Mike Hoffman and Rem Pitlick.

Bringing back Petry, who spent parts of eight seasons with Montreal, has made a lot of Canadiens fans happy, but that excitement may have to be tempered a little bit.


According to Sportsnet's Eric Engels, there's a chance that the Canadiens may move Jeff Petry before the start of the 2023-24 season and if not then, possibly by the trade deadline. Engels added that he believes Kent Hughes is already working on potentially flipping Petry.

Engels went on to say that the Canadiens have open retention spots, which means they can eat upwards of 50% of Petry's salary and can increase the return they could get in a potential trade.

Petry, 35, appeared in 508 games for the Canadiens between the 2014-15 and 2021-22 seasons, recording 248 points (70 goals, 178 assists), 186 penalty minutes and was a minus-56.

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