Trade rumours intensify for Jeff Petry: possible destinations surface

The number 26 called for a trade at the end of 2021 while Marc Bergevin was still in office and his successor did not succumb to trading his defenseman at a discount at the trade deadline last March.

Even though he had a strong finish to the season under Martin St. Louis, we could still expect to see Jeff Petry play somewhere other than Montreal next year, but as my colleague Christian Matte of Marqueur.com reports, options aren't abounding to find the ideal destination for the Habs' defenseman.

Journalist Marc-Antoine Godin, who covers the Habs for The Athletic, compiled a list of eight teams where Petry could very well be traded in an article published a few days ago.

Many hockey fans could easily think of Detroit and with good reason, Petry is a Michigan native and his name has been linked to the Red Wings in recent weeks as a potential destination.

However, as Godin reports, the chances of the defenseman ending up in Detroit seem pretty slim, especially with the presence of youngsters Moritz Seider and Filip Hronek on the right side of the defense.

Another place Petry has been linked to is Dallas, of course, but with defenseman John Klingberg likely to return, that doesn't leave much room on the Stars' payroll, with Petry set to earn $6.25 million per season for another three years.

According to Godin, the team that would be the most plausible destination in his eyes would be the Pittsburgh Penguins. We all know that Kristopher Letang will be a free agent this summer and that Petry could very well be an alternative. However, if the team decides to go with a rebuild, his arrival in Pittsburgh would be less likely.

The other cities mentioned by the journalist are Seattle, Buffalo, Nashville, New Jersey and the New York Islanders.

But what if the best option for Jeff Petry was the Habs? He had a great end to the season with 21 points in 28 games and said he loved playing under Martin St-Louis.

Even though the team is rebuilding, his presence on the team could be very beneficial for the development of young defensemen like Justin Barron, Jordan Harris and Kaiden Guhle.

What do you think?