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Get Pointe-Claire-raised defenseman Mike Mathison and a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft in return.
Article author:
Stu Cowan • Montreal Gazette
Publication date:
July 16, 2022 • 2 hours ago • 4 minutes read • 27 comments Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry patrols the blue line during a game against the Winnipeg Jets in Montreal on April 8, 2021. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette
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Defenseman Jeff Petry got his wish Saturday afternoon when Canadiens GM Kent Hughes traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with forward Ryan Poling.
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In return, the Canadiens receive Montreal-born defenseman Mike Mathison and a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
Petrie asked to be traded last season for family reasons. His wife Julie was upset by Quebec’s COVID-19 restrictions and returned to the family home in Michigan with their three sons while pregnant with a fourth boy, who was born last Monday. That left Petrie alone in Montreal for most of last season and missing his family.
“He was very grateful, grateful to be able to go to a team — one in the U.S. that we all know makes life easier for him or his family,” Hughes said on a video conference call after the deal was announced. “But it’s also a team that’s going all out here to try to win a Stanley Cup.”
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Hughes says he will try to trade Petry, but will only do so if it’s a deal that works for the Canadiens and improves them moving forward.
The 28-year-old Matheson, who grew up in Pointe-Claire on Montreal’s West Island, is six years younger than Petrie and also makes less money, which will give Hughes little wiggle room with the salary cap in NHL.
Matheson has four seasons remaining on his eight-year, $39 million contract with an annual salary cap hit of $4.875 million. Petrie has three seasons remaining on his four-year, $25 million contract with a $6.25 million salary cap hit.
Mathison had 11-20-31 totals in 74 games with the Penguins last season and was a plus-12 for career highs in goals and points. The 6-foot-2, 188-pounder was selected by the Florida Panthers in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. In 417 career regular season games, Mathison has a 49-89-138 overall record.
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Merci à Jeff pour ses huit solides années à la ligne bleue, son implication dans la communauté et les moments adorables avec Boyd.
Thank you @PetryJ for eight solid years on the blue line, your involvement in the community, and all of Boyd’s sweet content. Good luck in Pittsburgh! pic.twitter.com/10q1u6il8w
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) July 16, 2022
Matheson is a left tackle, so Petrie’s departure means the Canadiens have one less right tackle on the blue line. Hughes said Mathieson is capable of playing right-back if needed.
Hughes, who was Mattison’s agent before becoming the Canadiens’ GM, added that the defenseman is an exceptional skater who will fit into the way Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis wants his defensemen to play.
“I’ve known Mike since his days in the Triple-A midgets (with the Lac St. Louis Lions),” said Hughes, who also grew up on the West Island. “A first class human being. The expression you would always say is the type of man you would let marry your daughter even though he is married with a small baby at this point in his life. He is a great human being.”
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Hughes added that Mathieson would be a respected veteran in the locker room who could help develop the team’s young defensemen.
Petrie struggled last season, going 6-21-27 in 68 games and going minus-11. It was his lowest production in five seasons.
The Canadiens selected Poehling in the first round (25th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft, but he has struggled to earn a regular spot on the team. Last season, the 23-year-old played a career-high 57 games with the Canadiens, posting a combined 9-8-17. Last season Pohling spent the entire year with the Laval Rockets of the AHL. Pohling has one season remaining on his $750,000 salary cap contract.
“With Ryan being part of the deal for (the Penguins), they felt they might need some depth at center, given that their environment on the ice is certainly older, and that gives them that security.” Hughes said of Pauling being part of the trade. “And with our acquisition of Kirby Dutch (from the Chicago Blackhawks), we’re pretty comfortable with what we have in the middle of the ice at this point, already having (Nick) Suzuki and (Kristian) Dvorak and Jake Evans. We had a lot of references to one-way deals, and with Ryan leaving, we felt it freed us up to bring back Rem Pitlik, who we liked a lot, at a number that we felt was manageable, which wouldn’t necessarily have been if we had gone to arbitration.
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Shortly after trading Petry and Poehling, the Canadiens announced Pitlick had agreed to a two-year, $2.2 million contract, according to CapFriendly.com. The Canadiens requested Pitlick’s release from the Minnesota Wild last season. In 46 games with the Canadiens, he had a total of 9-17-26.
Pitlick became a restricted free agent after the season, but Hughes decided against giving him a qualifying offer, allowing the 25-year-old forward to test the market.
“We like Rem Pitlick,” Hughes said. “We didn’t qualify him because we didn’t think we could take the risk on the upside of his arbitration case. Unfortunately, a by-product of our financial or limited limitations. We had to put it on the open market. With Ryan Poehling being a part of that trade, we felt that we had center depth with the acquisition of Kirby Dach that we could then go back and get Rem back to a number that we felt was manageable.”
Hughes said the Canadiens saved just over $1 million in salary cap space with Saturday’s moves. The general manager added that he will continue to look for ways to get more salary cap relief as he still has to sign Dach, who is a restricted free agent.
According to CapFriendly.com, the Canadiens now have $1,248,334 in salary cap space.
scowan@postmedia.com
twitter.com/StuCowan1
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