Red Wings acquire D Jeff Petry from Canadiens: What the deal means for both teams

The Detroit Red Wings acquired defenseman Jeff Petry in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens, the teams announced Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know:

• Montreal received defenseman Gustav Lindstrom and a 2025 conditional fourth-round pick in the deal.
• The Canadiens will retain 50 percent of Petry’s remaining salary, resulting in a $2.34 million cap hit for Detroit, per CapFriendly.
• Petry was part of the three-team trade earlier this month that sent Erik Karlsson to Pittsburgh.

UPDATE: The #RedWings today acquired defenseman Jeff Petry from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Gustav Lindstrom and a conditional 4th round pick in 2025. pic.twitter.com/S7VfVJpa8f

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) August 15, 2023

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

What the trade means for Montreal

There are two ways of looking at this deal from the Canadiens’ perspective. One would be that they cleared just over $2.3 million from their books by shipping Petry to Detroit, the other would be that they are committing just over $2.3 million to have Petry not play for them for the next two seasons. Lindström, who will be 25 years old in October, does not look like a player with a particularly high ceiling, nor does he look like someone who fits in the overall plan for the Canadiens. He provides depth on the right side of the defense in the short term, and that’s about it. Perhaps the Canadiens can coach him up and unlock some of the potential that led the Red Wings to take him with the No. 38 pick in the 2017 draft, much like they did last season with Johnathan Kovacevic at the same age, but it is difficult to look at Lindstrom as someone who will significantly move the needle. The fourth-round pick in 2025 is a potential trade asset down the line, but for now, that doesn’t move the needle much either.

Of course, this trade cannot be looked at in a vacuum. Ultimately, the Canadiens moved Mike Hoffman, Rem Pitlick and Petry — while paying 37.5 percent of Petry’s salary for the next two years — and received Lindstrom, veteran goaltender Casey DeSmith, minor-leaguer Nathan Légaré, the Penguins’ second-round pick in 2025 and the worse of Detroit’s or Boston’s fourth-round pick in 2025. The big win remains the first part of the deal, where Hoffman and Pitlick were moved out with no salary retention because it cleared room in the lineup for younger players. Moving on from Petry accomplishes the same thing, even if the return, especially when combined with the salary retention, seems a bit underwhelming. — Basu

This move creates a log jam on defense for Detroit

On one hand, getting Petry — who played over 22 minutes a night last season in Pittsburgh, and still turned in reasonable top-four production — for about $2.3 million against the cap is a perfectly solid addition. He makes the Red Wings deeper, brings offense to the back end, and of course, it’s a nice homecoming story for Petry. The cost, too, was minimal, with Lindstrom looking like a seventh defenseman going forward.

What makes the deal a bit harder to understand, though, is the log jam Detroit now has on defense. That term can get overused at times, with the inevitability of injuries always lurking, but the Red Wings now have seven bona fide NHL regulars on the roster — players whose contracts and resumes make them hard to scratch. Perhaps more importantly, they also have a collection of young defensemen ready to start pushing for NHL minutes, headlined by 2021 No. 6 pick Simon Edvinsson. Obviously, this move — unless there’s more news coming — severely complicates his path to playing time, as well as that of Albert Johansson.

Petry may be the best of Detroit’s summer defense acquisitions, and could very well play a top-four role next season. At this trade price, it’s a nice addition. But when everyone’s healthy, do the Red Wings now sit Olli Määttä, who they just extended for two more seasons? Shayne Gostisbehere, who they brought in on a $4.125 million contract to help the power play? Or Ben Chiarot or Justin Holl, two of the three highest-paid defensemen, both of whom have three years remaining and are supposed to bring physicality and defense to the back end?

There’s no obvious answer, and that makes a perfectly reasonable — perhaps even desirable — trade acquisition into a confusing one in the grand scheme. — Bultman

Petry’s time in Pittsburgh

Petry wasn’t in his best form in Pittsburgh last season, which is not to suggest he still isn’t a top-four defenseman who can help on the power play. He is.

His struggles last season had more to do with getting injured right at the time when he seemed to be figuring out a new system. When he returned from a lengthy absence, Petry was fine — but by then the Penguins were in a complete free fall.

He remains a big — albeit not physical — defenseman who can move the puck and deliver a heavy shot. The latter was probably underutilized in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins are paying 25 percent of Petry’s cap hit for the next two seasons as part of the Karlsson deal. — Rossi

Backstory

After seven-plus years in Montreal, Petry was dealt to Pittsburgh last July. He tallied five goals and 26 assists in 61 games during his 2022-23 campaign with the Penguins. On Aug. 6, Petry was traded back to the Canadiens along with DeSmith, Légaré and Pittsburgh’s 2025 second-round pick for Hoffman and Pitlick. The 35-year-old began his career in Edmonton and has put up 353 career points over 13 NHL seasons.

Lindstrom, 24, had one goal and seven assists in 36 games for Detroit last season, his fourth in the NHL.

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