Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Jeff Petry, Mike Matheson, Kent Hughes, Ryan Poehling, Rem Pitlick, Laval Rocket, Trois-Rivieres Lions
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — Kent Hughes said on Thursday that it was a priority, and on Saturday the Canadiens traded Jeff Petry. Petry, along with forward Ryan Poehling, were sent to the Pittsburgh Penguins in return for defenceman Mike Matheson and a fourth round pick in 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
Petry, a veteran defenceman, requested a trade last season for family reasons, and Hughes promised to accommodate his wish if it made sense for the organization. “We were ready to keep [Jeff Petry] with us for the rest of his contract. At the same time, we’re conscious that it puts Jeff in a difficult situation with his family. In that context, there’s a risk that Jeff is not able to perform to his full potential,” said Hughes.
Hughes said that any trade involving Petry would need to have a defenceman in return or allow him to acquire a defenceman right after. Petry was thankful to be traded to a team based in the United States, and to a club trying to win the Stanley Cup.
“When you’re trading for good players, you’re going to have to give up good players,” Penguins general manager Ron Hextall said. “[Mike Matheson] is a good player. We certainly valued Mike. But we just feel like [Jeff Petry] at this point is a little a little better fit for us. He can play all situations; he can log big minutes.”
Petry was acquired on trade deadline in 2015 from the Edmonton Oilers for a second and fourth round draft picks. In 508 regular season games with Montreal, he totaled 248 points, and 13 points in 48 playoff games.
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Matheson Targeted
Matheson joins the Canadiens after spending the last two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 2021-22, the defenceman scored 11 goals, and 31 points in 74 regular season games. During the Penguins seven game playoff series against the Rangers, Matheson collected six points.
Hughes has a long relationship with Matheson as his agent at Quartexx before being hired by the Canadiens. The general manager described the club’s newest acquisition as a first-class human being. On the ice, Hughes likes Matheson’s skating, ability to carry the puck, his offensive production, and feels that he can help the younger players on the team.
The 28-year old will be entering the fifth year of the eight-year contract with a cap hit of $4.875-million. “Mike was a first-round pick by the Panthers, who had a good start to his pro career. That’s why Florida signed him to an eight-year contract,” Hughes said about his former client.
“Like a lot of young players that sign long-term contracts worth a lot of money, sometimes the expectations increase. When Mike was traded to Pittsburgh, we saw him regain his form and improve. I can tell you that Pittsburgh absolutely didn’t want to trade him, but we insisted that he was the player we wanted.”
Hughes feels that the Pointe-Claire, Quebec native will thrive in the Canadiens environment headed by Martin St. Louis. “Given the way we play, we believe that he’ll be able to help us. Marty wants our defensemen to play on top of the opposing team, instead of just backing up all the time.”
Matheson is scheduled to speak to the media on Monday.
Shopping for More Defence
Jeff Petry’s departure makes the Canadiens depth on right defence thin. David Savard and Chris Wideman are the only defencemen on the roster that regularly played on right defence at the NHL level last season. Justin Barron will certainly get an opportunity to earn a regular spot at the blue line. The 20-year old has seven career NHL games under his belt.
Hughes admitted on Saturday that he will continue to look via waivers or transaction to add experience on right defence. If needed, he identified Matheson, Corey Schueneman, Jordan Harris, and Otto Leskinen as options to slot on the right side.
Poehling Adds Depth
Poehling was drafted 27th overall by the Canadiens in the 2017 NHL entry draft. The center made a remarkable NHL debut by scoring a hat trick and the shootout winner against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Apr. 6th, 2019.
Since then, Poehling has split his time between the Laval Rocket and the Montreal Canadiens. In 71 AHL games, he amassed 44 points, and in the NHL, he collected 22 points in 85 games.
“Having [Ryan Poehling] be part of the deal, for them, they felt they needed a little depth at center given that their middle of the ice is certainly older. It provides them with that security. With the acquisition on our part of Kirby Dach, we’re pretty comfortable at this point in time with what we have in the middle of the ice with Nick Suzuki, Christian Dvorak and Jake Evans,” Hughes explained his decision.
For the Penguins, the 23-year old adds depth at center. “Sometimes change can spur a guy on, and we’re hoping he can be a good two-way player for us,” Hextall said. “He’s got good size. He plays the middle of the ice and can also play the wing. So we feel pretty good about the acquisition.”
Following Poehling’s trade, all of the Canadiens first-round draft picks from 2006 to 2018 are no longer with the organization.
Pitlick Re-signs
Moments following Matheson’s acquisition, the Canadiens announced signing Rem Pitlick to a two-year contract with a cap hit of $1.1-million. The forward became an unrestricted agent on Wednesday, after the club decided not to tender him a qualifying offer. Hughes explained that Pitlick was allowed to become unrestricted as they did not want to risk being forced to pay the salary awarded by an arbitrator.
The Canadiens acquired Pitlick on January 12th after being placed on waivers by the Minnesota Wild. In 66 games last season with both teams, he scored 15 times and totaled 37 points.
Rocket Sign Players
The Laval Rocket announced the signature of three players on Sunday. First, Gabriel Bourque signed a one-way AHL contract. Last season, the veteran recorded 28 points in 67 regular season games, and four points in 14 playoff games. Bourque notably scored the series winning goal in overtime against the Crunch.
#Rocket Gabriel Bourque sends LAV to the second round! #GoRocket pic.twitter.com/PI7xDpUZ2o
— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) May 18, 2022
“At the start of the season, I wasn’t getting points, but I think I was playing good hockey. I was putting myself more pressure that normal because it was one year that I hadn’t played, but it finished well, and it went well in the playoffs,” Bourque said at the end of the season.
Second, goaltender Joe Vrbetic signed a one-year two-way AHL contract. Last season, Vrbetic played for the OHL’s North Bay Battalion where he had 29-10-6 record, 2.87 goals-against-average, .906 save percentage in 45 regular season games. In eight playoff games, the Canadiens seventh round 2021 draft pick won six times, 3.88 goals-against-average, and .872 save percentage.
Thirdly, Philippe Desrosiers signed a one-year two-way AHL contract. Last season, the goaltender spent most of the season with the Trois-Rivieres Lions where he had 19-13-1 record, 3.09 goals-against-average, and .902 save percentage in 34 regular season games. In seven playoff games, he registered 4.08 goals-against-average, and .880 save percentage. Desrosiers also played four regular season games with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.
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