The Pittsburgh Penguins have just made an important decision regarding Jeff Petry

In response to this sub-par start to the season, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan just made an interesting decision regarding Petry.

Instead of punishing him or giving him a clear message, he just offered Petry a big promotion to help him break through:

This is the first time in nearly three years that the Penguins have used two defensemen on their first power play wave, if you eliminate the times it was caused by injury.

This is a big vote of confidence in Petry from the Penguins, and it will be interesting to see if he can take advantage of this great opportunity. Still, he's on a first wave of the power play, along with players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel and Kris Letang.

There you have it. Clearly explains the decision, a big one for Petry (and he actually seemed to acknowledge it in the media scrum).

Petry, 34, has eight points this season. He earns $6.25 million per season through 2025.