Jeff Petry considered playing in Montreal at some point this summer

During the off-season, Jeff Petry joined the Canadiens… by force of circumstance. The defenseman was included in a three-team deal that landed Erik Karlsson in Pennsylvania.

Petry ended up with the Canadiens, the same team he had left the year before. It wasn’t his plan A, but his no-trade clause didn’t stop him.

Of course, everyone quickly realized that the Canadiens’ plan was not to keep him. Kent Hughes was on the phone and finally, after nine days, managed to trade him to his childhood Red Wings.

That ended the matter… for good. I hope, anyway.

All this to say that today, Petry is happy in Detroit. He’s at home, in an environment he knows, since Kent Hughes didn’t hesitate to do him a favor by sending him home.

And the defender knows it. And he’s grateful for it.

He [Kent Hughes] told me he would work hard to find the best solution for me. He did it in style. – Jeff Petry

But, as Jean-François Chaumont of the Journal de Montréal reports, there was a period of anguish in all of this.

At a certain point, he must have started to feel the clock was ticking, and as the camps approached, he no doubt told himself that there was a good chance he wouldn’t be traded. And he imagined himself back in Montreal.

Obviously, this wasn’t his #1 desire. That said, the situation forced him not to dismiss this scenario out of hand.

His plan was still to go elsewhere, but I guess he figured that ending up with the boys again might not be the most catastrophic scenario either…

But hey. Even if he doesn’t play every night in Detroit, he’s now in a good environment for him thanks to the efforts of Habs management, who have accommodated a veteran.

Gossip

– Will he be the right man for the job in New York?

– Where will Patrick Kane go?

– He’s got to win.

Skinner starts in San Jose

– Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) November 9, 2023

– He’s back.

Louis Domingue says Madison Square Garden is one of the buildings he loves to play in

“It’s gonna be great to play for the home crowd this time around. It was pretty hard when we were in the playoffs and they were against me” pic.twitter.com/BevNAKPBkm

– Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) November 9, 2023

– Good point.

As an attorney representing workers, these job offers are concerning after a layoff of over 500 employees! Wage cut, constructive dismissal? https://t.co/CCegzeAOLG

– Me Sophie Mongeon (@A2Maitres) November 9, 2023