Jeff Petry wants nothing to do with playing in San Jose

The Erik Karlsson deal in San Jose is no simple matter. After all, the Hurricanes and Penguins are in the thick of the race right now.

Both clubs can talk to him, but the Penguins seem to have a bit of an edge at the moment.

According to what The Athletic reports, it feels like the Penguins are the defenseman’s #1 choice right now. If he had to choose, he’d surely take the Pennsylvania route.

But he’s not the only one to decide.

In fact, even if we thought Kyle Dubas was on the verge of uprooting him last month on the bangs of the draft (it was actually in his plan when he sold his salad to get the Penguins job), it’s not done yet.

But why not? Who knows?

In fact, we have a good idea of what’s holding things up: what do the Penguins have to do to create space under the salary cap to accommodate part of Karlsson’s salary?

And in reality, we know: the club has to get rid of Jeff Petry, a right-handed defenseman (like Karlsson and Kristopher Letang) who earns a lot of money and isn’t very useful to the club.

The problem? The player doesn’t want to go to San Jose.

Can we blame the player for not wanting to go to San Jose, when he can block a deal to half the NHL’s destinations? No, I don’t think you can blame him.

I’m not going to cast the first stone, in any case.

Whether it’s because the Sharks are far out West, because of California’s tax rate, because it’s a left-wing state (his family is right-wing) or because it’s just a long way from Michigan, where the family stays, the reasons can be many.

That said, the fact remains that the Penguins player is getting his club into trouble. He has every right to do so, but after getting the CH into trouble, he’s doing the same with the Penguins.

But since he signed that contract and Marc Bergevin agreed to give him a partial no-trade clause, he can do whatever he wants right now.

Still, we’ll be wishing Kyle Dubas as good a comeback as Kent Hughes… #MikeMatheson

All of which leaves the door open for a three-team deal. Whether it’s to hold back even more salary or to send Petry to the third team, there’s a lot of talk. But that’s easier said than done, isn’t it?

In a gaggle

– Is it realistic?

– Oh oh.

– Really?

– Like it or not?