Latest on the Canadiens, Rangers, Ducks, Senators and Blues.
Impact of Petry’s Re-signing upon Canadiens.
RDS.CA: In his analysis of the Montreal Canadiens re-signing Jeff Petry to a six-year, $33 million deal, Francois Gagnon also examined the potential impact that signing has upon the Habs’ cap space. GM Marc Bergevin still has to re-sign RFAs Alex Galchenyuk and Nathan Beaulieu. He must also consider re-signing pending UFA forwards Torrie Mitchell and Brian Flynn, plus find scoring depth at forward. Gagnon speculates as to potential trade candidates to free up cap space. Possibilities include Alexei Emelin ($4.1 million cap hit), Andrei Markov ($5.75 million), Tom Gilbert ($2.8 million), Brandon Prust ($2.5 million) or Tomas Plekanec ($5 million).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Gagnon isn’t saying those players are being shopped or are even available. He’s simply suggesting options if Bergevin decides to shed salary for other signings or additions. Under the current cap ceiling, the Canadiens have $4.75 million of cap space remaining. That goes up to $6.75 million if the cap comes in at its latest projection of $71 million. Bergevin’s shown a willingness to make bold moves to address his roster needs, so we should expect he’ll try to do something to address his current issues.
Pending free agent winger Matt Beleskey may have played his last game with the Anaheim Ducks.
Can the Ducks retain Beleskey and Beauchemin?
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: Eric Stephens reports it could be difficult for the Anaheim Ducks to re-sign pending UFAs Matt Beleskey and Francois Beauchemin. Stephens claims early speculation suggests Beleskey could command a multi-year deal worth between $4.5 – $5 million annually. Beauchemin, coming off a deal earning $3.5 million annually, really wants to remain with the Ducks. GM Bob Murray also acknowledged the possibility RFA Jakob Silfverberg might receive an offer sheet, adding they hope to get ahead of that curveball.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Ducks will re-sign Silfverberg and I expect Beauchemin is willing to take a pay cut to remain with the Ducks. It’s expected Beleskey will test the UFA market.
Latest on Cam Talbot’s trade status.
NEW YORK POST: Larry Brooks reports the Rangers third-string goalie Mackenzie Skapski underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a labral tear in his right hip. Recovery time is four-five months, which could affect backup Cam Talbot’s trade status this summer. If the Rangers trade Talbot this summer, Brooks feels they must acquire an established backup via trade or free agency. He claims Skapski was never really considered the backup for next season if Talbot were dealt.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: If there’s one thing this summer’s UFA market has plenty of, it’s experienced backup goalies.
Latest Blues clues for next season.
STLTODAY.COM: With the Blues recently re-signing coach Ken Hitchcock to another one-year deal, Jeremy P. Rutherford wonders which members of the Blues core ( David Backes, Alexander Steen, T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund and Barret Jackman) will return next season. Backes said he expects changes will take place.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A shakeup to the Blues roster seems likely, and I expect Oshie is the most likely to be dealt because he lacks a no-trade clause. Backman is a UFA this summer and won’t be back.
Updates on the Senators.
OTTAWA SUN: Bruce Garrioch reports the Senators haven’t made a decision yet on pending UFA forward Erik Condra, who is likely to depart on July 1. The Senators could keep trying to trade winger Colin Greening ($2.65 million per season), but might have to pick up part of his salary to make a deal work. They could also try peddling David Legwand ($3 million) to a club in need of reaching the cap floor.
I wonder if Petry left money on the table lol
petry will ensd up being a massive burden on montreal. he is a 5-7 Dman making big money. welcome to david clarkson toronto
He’s now Andrew MacDonald 2.0.
absolutely…..
but macdonald is still a better contract than petry….cheaper and slightly better stats….
You sir are wrong. Petry is a top 4 defender on any team in the NHL. He is nowheres near as worthless as David Clarkson
we will return to this comment in a year or so
The key to being a fan of a particular team is not to adopt a “my team do or die” attitude. A bad deal is a bad deal and this one stinks to high heaven, not just the amount and term to Petry, but putting the team in a precarious cap situation. Top 4 defender on ANY team? In your dreams maybe.
That’s exactly right, George. The fog of homerism is always thick and heavy with the Hab fans and celebrating this deal couldn’t be a better example.
Petry is not even a solid defenseman, let alone a player who would feature in a top-anything discussion.
I think we can refer to him as serviceable at the NHL level if we’re being realistic and by the end of this contract he won’t even be that.
Well, I’ll grant you this much: Petry’s a top 4 d-man on Edmonton, Buffalo, Phoenix and Toronto… and, now, even Montreal. Well, at least for a year or so, until they buy him out :)))
Montreal’s Phaneuf deal.
This has to be coming from a leaf fan. If you actually believe that he is a 5-7 Dman, then either 1) you have never seen him play. 2) you are a fan of his and were hoping to get him in the offseason or 3) youre a leaf fan and cant accept that Montreal made a good deal. I think the money is a bit much, but at the same time, if Dion Phaneuf can get 7 mill over 7 years. Petry is worth 5.5 over 6. He will not be a burden on the Habs, I look to bergevin to get one of Markov, Emelin Plekanec, P.A Desharnais or Gilbert shipped out. Will definitely be more then 1. Markov at 36 makes 5.3, petry at 27, makes 5.5 and is more effective as shown in the playoffs. Its a good deal
I think you should put the crack pipe down petry is a very solid top 4 defenceman and could be 1-2 on most teams he was the trophy gin Edmonton and if he wax with the laffs he d without a doubt fill that role too…. In Montreal he s top 3 subban markov petry beaulieu Gilbert Pâteryn emelin tinordi are the top. 8
You and others just put your dislike for the Habs in front of what is the truth. Petry was going to be the best right d on the market and would of got 6.5 year. He raised his stock in playoffs All the hockey experts have said this and how good a thing it is for Habs as he is perfect #3 d.
He is a good player, would like it alot at 5 but 5.5 is OK. It doesn’t matter what you leaf fans think cause you say you have the better players but haven’t made playoffs in 9 out of 10 years now. Plus you guys love the worst contracts so I can see how your upset cause you would have had him at 7 a year and so 5.5 is a steal.
I wanted Petry in Detroit, but not for that kinda money. Thanks for saving us, Montreal
Petry left no money on the table. That contract was market value, if not an overpayment.
Beleskey has scored 20 goals once, this season, and averages 14 goals per 82 games for his NHL career. $4.5-5.0 million is a huge overpayment.
However, we all know that GMs pay ridiculous contracts on July 1, so who knows with either of these players.
What is Montreal thinking? Kudos to Petry’s agent for getting such a deal. This deal could handcuff the habbies. Good
It won’t handcuff us at a bergevin made a great trade in getting him he raped the oilers inthat trade and made a solid signing our top 4 will be one of the best in the east
That seems a bit high for Petry but he did play well down the stretch and he would have gotten that elsewhere if not from Montreal although he’ll now have to live up to that contract at 5.5M cap hit.
I can see Beaulieu taking a bridge deal in the $3 – $3.5 for 2 – 3 years however I can’t see Galchenyuk taking a similar bridge deal, he played much better last year and is eating up about 15 minutes a night mostly on the second line and decent PP time. He’ll look at a deal like Kadri got and want more and most likely deserve more.
No one in their right mind would have given petry 5.5… thanks to him phaneuf now has a good contract
Whoa, Tucker is on here too? Hey, remember when you were with the Avs and Mike Haynes asked about your playing time and you rolled your eyes in a pregame interview. That was awesome!
Actually, its because of Phaneuf that players are getting these bad contracts. To me, its not a bad signing. 5.5 is a bit steep. I myself would have thought 5 even. But Petry is definitely a top 4 dman, played well down the stretch for Montreal and proved his worth. Dion however, never showed he was ever worth 7 mill. He played well as a 3-4 dman in Calgary, but showed more times then not hes a liability with Toronto.
Phaneuf is definitely a top pairing D-man, but the types of situations and minutes he’s been asked to play in the last few years is what is making him look bad. If he had a mobile D-man who is solid positionally to play with and a decent second pairing to take some minutes off of him he would be much better than he is now. You were to put Phaneuf on any team with a solid top 4 and he would shine.
On July 1st petry would ve got that or more 6 per he would be been the too ufa d man available
I wonder what Cody Franson’s asking price will be now? Franson will probably now be asking for 5.5 – 6 mil now. I’m not sure that he is all that much better than Petry if at all. Franson may bring more offense but Petry plays a better all around game (doesn’t get caught flat fotted as Franson sometimes does). What are your thoughts?
Montreal obviously liked Petry from his time with them since they picked him up. I always liked Petry even when he was on Edmonton. I think it is a good signing by Montreal and a disappointment in Oiler country that there team showed little to no progress causing in my opinion, Petry to want out.
As for Franson, he is going to be signed by a team who has to evaluate how he played on another team. Last year on Tornoto and Nashville and determine if he’d be a good fit for them. I think Franson will fall under what Petry got. But yah it is free agency so my eyes likely will pop when I see what he does sign for.
Wow – $33 mil for Jef Petry? Wisniewski money, can’t believe anyone would be silly enough to sign Petry to this term and money. Franson must be celebrating.
This is July 1st on June 2nd – totally stupid money. You can like Petry all you want, but he’s not worth this contract.
Petry was always going to ask for and get more than $5M. The same can be said for Franson. It’s just the nature of it.
33 million and 6 years for this guy is insane – he’s not that good
Petry is a better defencan than franson
Talbot a goner – Rangers want draft picks and Cam will get them just that.
That Oilers 2nd pick in the 1st looks nice…
I was originally going to say that I can’t see the Oilers giving up their #16 pick for a backup with a high ceiling for potential, but then I remembered NJ giving up their #9 pick for Schnieder, so I suppose it’s possible
No way I’d give up #16 for a back-up goalie! Talbot has no experience as a starter in this league. Hasn’t Edmonton learned this the hard way witht he likes of Fasth, Scrivens, Bryzgalov and Dubnyk?
Look at Talbots stats. I dont know if I’d give up # 16 but would definately do it for # 33.
Corey Schnider got the #9 pick, and at that point he was a reliable backup. Talbot has played well when handed the reigns, but I wonder how much of it was HIM, and how much of it was the team IN FRONT of him.
Talbot is not going anywhere. He saved the rangers season this year and they know it. The team rallies around him and he’ll be a lot cheaper than any experienced back-up. The rangers still have very little cap space to play with.
Talbot is going nowhere. Skapski just had surgery and is out 5-6 months. That killed any deal involving Talbot.
Of course petry deserves this kind of money. Have you seen his play in Montreal ? Or Edmonton ?
Petry is a top 3 d-man buddy.
You will probably see better next year.
Man o man – Ok if you say so. Simply stated, this is a top 2 defenseman contract for a guy who is NOT a top 2 defenseman. You pay a guy this much to hope he’s gonna be better next year?
Most GMs that pay for potential end up eating a contract somewhere down the road. Put ketchup and mustard on this contract.
This is not top two money. More like 3rd guy money. I can not remember numbers but the Sbisa contract in Vancouver was high, and there seems to be a lot of iffy d men getting paid 5 million.
I have no problem with 5.5 for Petry. For SIX Years though?!?
i do not understand how he got so much term at that price. 4 years maybe?
I know there are rules to it but why not front load the contract as much as possible, get a lower AAV and the players (if they invest wisely) will over the long run potentially make even more.
and then if the player wants to walk away from the game, they can without losing as much money.
it just boggles my brain the economics of the NHL.
He’s just not that good – Montreal was competing with themselves here. This is contract the Habs will hate as time goes on.
Three to four years at $4.5M tops, not 6 years at $33M. hey, I am not a Habs’ fan, I should be happy!
Petry has only had one decent season. We’ll see how he handles the pressure when he hits road bumps in his season. He didn’t handle it well in Edmonton when he had poor stretches..wait until he experiences it in Montreal…Edmonton is a cake walk in comparison. Gets puck focused often and loses his man in front. Overpaid by 1 to 1.5 for sure. In Edmonton the lack of good dmen made him top 2 but he is top 4 at best. They paid for potential
I watched the Oilers draft Petry back in 2007 and develop him into a solid top 4 defenceman. To say that Petry wouldn’t have got that type of contract in free agency is naive considering what a top four defenceman with a right handed shot who can play on the PP get’s paid in this league. If you watched the playoffs it was clearly seen how well Petry played down the stretch. Using the comparison that Petry wouldn’t be in the top four for any team but the Oilers is just stupid. You are going to play better when you play with better players/team. I’m confident that Petry is going to be a solid player for the Canadians. This coming from an Oilers fan who has watched the majority of his games for the past 5 years.
Oiler – I am with you – I haven’t “it” yet. 6 years is a lot to pay for potential.
Petry will be fine. 5,5 is less than he would gwt on the open market and remember Montreal is in Quebec. The Habs always overpay UFAs by about a million because of the taxes here.
Yhe fans and media have gotten a lot better these last few years because Montreal was finally allowed to really suck and sink to the 3rd overall pick. People got the message that the league is tough.
Oilers2018: I think Montreal has a better room and overall organization than Edmonton did when Petry was there. He’ll be fine with the bumps cause the team is solid with solid veterans. the Oil were a mess and you can’t blame a guy for being so frustrated with that gong show year after year. Hopefully Chirialli fixes the Oil.
Petry works in MTL becuase he is mobile and his game fits with MTL perfectly. He will have success.
sigh…..Garioch. Must have been the Great Glebe Garage sale that inspired that piece un-refreshed news. Nobody wants our crap contract/players. Legwand will be back. Greening will be a throw in on whatever “one” deal Brian Murray manages to swing this summer.
And it’s more likely than not that we’ll start the season with 3 goalies.
there’s no news in Ottawa…seriously.
but….to speculate……Brian Murray offer sheet to get Silferberg back would be interesting. I wonder if the Ducks would match.
I think with Lehner, Legwand, Smith, Cowen, chiasson as your obvious trade baits that something can happen with the Senators. These are just the guys who obviously can be moved. Add to them Phillips, Neil and Michalek and you don’t have great names by any means but certainly a package of serviceable assets that can be packaged in some combination with draft picks to bring in a top 6 forward. If you add Anderson to the trade block things start getting quite interesting.
Nick Paul and/or Matt Peumple may make the leap to the NHL soon If you add their names names to the trade block you can start to envision how a package can be made to entice a trade.
Cap strapped teams and teams looking to reach the cap floor can gain much by dealing with the Sens.
I know your just speculating, but if Murray was to offer sheet someone I don’t think it would be Silfverberg. A good up and coming player? Yes. Great? No. Not sure it would be worth the draft picks involved as the offer would have to be around 6 mil per for the ducks to walk away.
Jonny Boychuk signed for $6.0 M per so Petry at $5.5 M per is an overpay in my opinion. I know contracts are high now, just ridiculous actually, so $5.5 M per is what you prob pay your #3 dman. Im just not sure that Petry is a #3 dman. Might make a better #4 guy.
5 years $25 M would have been ideal but if thats what Bergevin offered he might have just waited for free agency to drive his price even higher than $33 M.
What concerns me even more is that they could have used that $$ to trade for a solid scoring winger and they didn’t.
Montreal should now move a few solid prospects and/or picks for someone like TJ Oshie or Patrick Marleau. Another 25+ goal scorer wouldn’t hurt.
Can they afford that now with Petry’s big deal?
I think Montreal should go for Patrik Sharp in a trade. He is a winner and clutch in important moments. He shouldn’t be too expensive in a trade as it’s expected Blackhawks will move on from him. Obviously Canadiens will have to ditch some of their depth centers to get it under the cap. They need to start working Galchenyuk into center position as well.
Oshie would be very expensive in a trade. Marleau not so much, but he has a NTC.
Petry’s contract is about the same as Leddy and Carle. Does he worth iT ?
Let’s remember some silly contracts gave away last year
Engelland 2,9M$
Stoner 3,25 M$
Nikitin 4,5 MS
Orpik 5,5 M$
Niskanen 5,725M$
So you see that is fair market value for Petry. Let’s not forget the taxes are higher in Quebec too.
If Petry landed in MTL, it’s maybe because Detroit doesn’t want to overpaid a defenseman.They knew they couldn’t keep him after july 1st. Kronwall’salary is 4,75M$
It was fair market value. It was always $5M+ to start negotiations and with high local tax, the end result is $5.5M. It was fully expected. Similar can be said about Franson. Negotiations start at $5M and he wants promise for PP time as well. Boychuk and Leddy deals looked rich at the time but are in line with what others are getting. The only thing I don’t like about Petrys contract is the 6 years. I’m opposed to most contract over 5 years and I think this term doesn’t make sense for that particular player. I would only go 5 years max. But that said – that may not have done it…
the term sounds good to me. But I like Petry and envision him getting better. Markov will retire sooner than later and the Habs have Petry to step in when that time happens.
Markov has slowed down in recent years Petry, but Petry is no Markov-equivalent – let’s not kid ourselves.
Like someone said before. They paid for Potential. I like what I have seen from him and yes he is long from being Markov but He is not that far of a downward swing in my opinion and he has room to improve.
I have no issue with the term. Understand why some don’t like the dollar value
If Jeff Petry was a top 4 defenceman, why would Edmonton trade him. They need defenceman badly.I think this deal will have simular repercussions to Habs aquiring Scot Gomez. Its a joke. But they traded Ryan Mcdonagh in that deal. How good would he look in A defenceman core with Subban. I being a Leafs fan love it!! Maybe they can add Phaneuf this off season as well
Edmonton traded him because he wanted out. You know the old get something for a guy before he walks away in free agency thing.
And they knew he wasn’t worth what he was going to get as a ufa.. Not even close. Like 4th Hanson brother said top 2 money but not a top 2 dman. 4 million ok 5.5 lol he should give his agent a big bonus.
Yeah 5.5 may be a bit much but I am ok with Marc Methot money for Jeff Petry.
*ahem Methot*
While we’ll see about the Petry contract, and while “homerism” can be a factor sometimes, habs haters also can play a factor. I mean, I’m always reading websites like this to this day I laugh and enjoy the memories of when people said Subban was crap (Norris) and the best was when (I believe it was a bunch of leafs fans) made a website saying when will Price win a game? They had some countdown clock (back in the day when he was struggling). Now lets wait until the NHL awards comes up and see how much hardware he leaves with…People (leafs fans/habs haters) have been putting the leafs ahead of the habs each preseason for the longest time. I never understood how this was possible. I thought to myself “is it just cuz i’m a habs fan?” Then every year the same thing happens…maybe leafs fans will shut it one day.
You guys who are bashing the Petry signing know nothing about the player. I am not a Montreal fan but they paid fair 2015 market value.
Petry is top 4 on any team in the league as the guy previously said. His contract is comparable to what Niskanen got and is a polished all around D-man. He will be top 2 with Subban for the duration of his contract now that Markov is close to retirement.
Edmonton badly mishandled this player and they could have signed him for $4 mill last year. They were desperate for Dmen and he was their best. He will be fine in Montreal. Just as good as Stralman has turned out in Tampa.
Here’s the deal – you pay a guy 6 yrs/$33M you better be getting an all around defenseman who can play against the other team’s 2nd line every night. You are stuck with him into the next decade. Some of us just haven’t seen the validity yet.
I see this contract and I think Wisniewski – he never made it in CMH for the balance of his deal.
Habs problem
Petry is a soft #3 or solid #4 Dman on most teams in the NHL. certainly not all but the majority. He still only has 314 games of NHL experience & the break through point for most Dman is 400 games. Let’s not forget he has had the misfortune to play for the worst team in the NHL over his career.
Mctavish did not like this player for what ever reason & his playing time & development has been hampered & delayed due to this.
For those of you lamenting $ & term, get over it. This is the cost moving forward for any Dman that can potentially play in the top 4 in today’s NHL & it’s going to get more expensive. Had Petry waited to July 1 he may well have gotten more. I don’t like it either but accept it. I have been arguing this point as it relates to Phaneuf’s contract. in 2 maybe 3 years Phaneuf’s contract will look like good value for a player that is a soft #1 or solid #2.