Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes spoke with the media for nearly 20 minutes, in both English and French, regarding the fact that he basically acquired Jeff Petry to flip him (and a whole lot more) over the course of his conversation…
And if you don’t have 20 minutes to spare, TSN posted a 5:30 video in which Hughes very directly addresses the Hughes deal in English:
Okay, here’s what I’ve Tweeted regarding the Red Wings’ trade for Jeff Petry from Montreal:
I had a feeling that the Red Wings weren't done, and I still think that they aren't done.
— George Malik (@georgemalik) August 15, 2023
The Wings needed a right-shot defenseman, and Jeff Petry for 2 years at $2.34 million is okay, especially for Lindstrom and a 4th.
They could still use a scoring winger, too. We'll see!
Yes, Petry is 35 years old, but he’s still a very strong skater, and he can post 30-35 points on the right point. He’s coming in on a $2.34 million cap hit, and in terms of real-world salary, he’s going to cost the Wings $2.8125 million this season, and only $1.875 million next season.
That’s very reasonable for someone who’s essentially coming in to replace Filip Hronek until the Wings can bring in a younger right-side defenseman (or one of their lefties steps up and takes the spot).
I’m not thrilled that the Wings gave up Gustav Lindstrom, upper-body strength issues included, but Lindstrom and a conditional 4th round pick are very reasonable rates for someone with Petry’s track record.
Moreover, the Red Wings now have a depth chart on defense that goes seven defensemen deep–Seider, Walman, Maatta, Petry, Gostisbehere, Holl and Chiarot, not counting the youngsters like Edvinsson or Wallinder–and there are going to be injuries on defense, so you have to build your forward corps and defensive corps deeper than 12 + 6.
Overall, I mean, no, it’s not ideal to be adding another guy in his mid-30’s, who’s signed next year as well as this one, but Petry addresses a need, he’s a hometown guy, his skating is strong and he’s got some savvy, as well as a track record of scoring 35+ points…
And the Wings didn’t pay much for him. So this works.
Now we’ll see whether they bring in one more scoring winger.
Red Wings prospect Antti Tuomisto made a decision to bet on himself this past season, leaving the University of Denver for TPS Turku of the Finnish Liiga. He converted that pro season into an entry-level NHL deal with the Red Wings, as MLive’s Ansar Khan notes:
“I thought about it for a long time, for months, what’s the right decision for my future,” Tuomisto said. “I think I made a good choice.”
Four years after the Detroit Red Wings drafted him in the second round (35th overall), the 6-5, 205-pound right-shooting defenseman is poised to make his AHL debut with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
“Antti is a smart player, a cerebral player. He makes a good first pass,” Daniel Cleary, Red Wings assistant director of player development, said. “This is going to be a big test for him coming over for his first year of pro in North America. We got to be patient and see how he goes.”
Tuomisto and fellow Red Wings prospects Carter Mazur and Shai Buium were freshmen on the Pioneers’ NCAA title team. Tuomisto last season appeared in 60 games in his native Finland for TPS Turku of SM-liiga, picking up five goals and 15 assists.
“Get a bigger role maybe than I had in Denver and also play with older guys, a little bigger guys in Finland,” Tuomisto, 22, said. “There’s a lot of skating in Finland. Bigger sheet. Also, puck battles and stuff like that with bigger guys, it’s harder. That helped me a lot.”
Informative!
Per the Detroit Red Wings:
RED WINGS ACQUIRE JEFF PETRY FROM MONTREAL CANADIENS IN EXCHANGE FOR GUSTAV LINDSTROM AND A CONDITIONAL FOURTH-ROUND PICK IN 2025 NHL ENTRY DRAFT
… Michigan State University Product Has Recorded 353 Points in 864 NHL Games With Oilers, Canadiens and Penguins Since 2010-11 …
DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today acquired defenseman Jeff Petry from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Gustav Lindstrom and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. Montreal will retain 50 percent of remaining obligations pertaining to Petry’s contract. Detroit will pay 37.5 percent of Petry’s remaining contract.
Petry, 35, spent the 2022-23 campaign with the Pittsburgh Penguins, recording 31 points (5-26-31), a plus-two rating and 24 penalty minutes in 61 games. The 6-foot-3, 209-pound defenseman joined the Penguins after playing the 2021-22 season with the Canadiens, notching 27 points (6-21-27) and 36 penalty minutes in 68 games. Petry helped the Canadiens reach the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, logging 42 points (12-30-42), a plus-six rating and 20 penalty minutes in 55 regular-season games, in addition to dishing out six assists in 20 postseason contests. Originally selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the second round (45th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Petry has compiled 353 points (92-261-353) and 349 penalty minutes in 864 games between the Oilers, Canadiens and Penguins since 2010-11, along with 13 points (5-8-13) and 18 penalty minutes in 48 playoff games. Petry also totaled 28 points (7-21-28) and 22 penalty minutes in 51 games with the American Hockey League’s Springfield Falcons and Oklahoma City Barons from 2009-12.
A native of Ann Arbor, Mich., Petry is the son of 13-year MLB veteran Dan Petry, who helped the Detroit Tigers win the 1984 World Series and posted a 119-93 record and a 3.84 earned run average in 306 appearances (274 starts) with the franchise from 1979-87 and 1990-91. Prior to turning professional, Petry spent three seasons at Michigan State University from 2007-10, serving as team captain during his junior year. In total, Petry collected 67 points (9-58-67) and 86 penalty minutes in 118 games with the Spartans, earning a spot on the CCHA Second All-Star Team in 2009-10 and CCHA All-Rookie Team honors in 2007-08. Before joining the Spartans, Petry spent two seasons with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League from 2005-07, registering 60 points (19-41-60) and 139 penalty minutes in 103 games. He guided Des Moines to a Clark Cup championship in 2006 and was named USA Hockey Junior Player of the Year following the 2006-07 campaign. Petry also played three seasons of varsity hockey at St. Mary’s Preparatory in Orchard Lake, Mich., from 2002-05. On the international stage, Petry represented Team USA at three consecutive IIHF World Championships from 2012-14, earning a bronze medal at the 2013 tournament.
UPDATE: The #RedWings today acquired defenseman Jeff Petry from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Gustav Lindstrom and a conditional 4th round pick in 2025. pic.twitter.com/S7VfVJpa8f
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) August 15, 2023
Red Wings analyst and alumnus Larry Murphy just won the “3ICE” league’s championship as the coach of “Team Murphy,” and he recently spoke with the NHL Network regarding his summertime coaching job, the Red Wings’ offseason moves, and more over the course of a 10-minute interview:
Grand Rapids Griffins forwards Dominik Shine and Tyler Spezia headed to a West Michigan Whitecaps game recently, and the Griffins “mic’ed them up”:
Shine & Spez mic'd up but make it baseball edition ⚾ @tylersp7 | #GoGRG pic.twitter.com/rkTF6P2tWr
— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) August 14, 2023
The Grand Rapids Griffins are holding their annual charity golf tournament to raise funds for the Griffins’ Youth Foundation on Monday, August 21st at the American Dunes Country Club. The Griffins Tweeted…Erm…X’ed…Erm…Posted that there are still open spots (they’re not cheap, but that’s charity golf tournament stuff for you) today:
FORE 🏌️ ⛳
— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) August 14, 2023
The GYF Golf Classic is next Monday @AmericanDunes, there are still spots available so sign up NOW!
INFO >> https://t.co/2IttHEUiA8 pic.twitter.com/856cxqLgbr
MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a profile of Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur, who’s a bit of a…shift disturber:
“I would say I like (ticking) people off,” Mazur said. “That’s a big part of my game, so I feel like when that’s going on and getting under people’s skin, that’s what I consider a ‘B’ game. “A (game), I would consider I’m doing all that and adding skill, good passing, scoring goals.”
He added, “I love chirping. Don’t care who you are. It makes hockey a lot of fun.”
The left wing from Jackson, drafted 70th (third round) in 2021, is ready for his first full pro season in Grand Rapids, where he had six points (three goals, three assists) in six games to close out 2022-23, after two years in college that included an NCAA Championship in 2022.
“It is my life-long dream to be a Detroit Red Wing,” Mazur said. “I’m close to it, but it’s still far away. I don’t want to be someone who just sticks around for a couple of games and gets sent down. I want to be a player that competes and does everything. That’s my main focus, along with learning from older guys.
“If I’m in Grand Rapids, I’m in a good spot, but I want to be with the big club. I’m in a good spot either way.”
He’ll be better prepared after gaining weight and adding strength. He checked in at 177 during development camp last month at Little Caesars Arena, when his goal was to gain one pound per week this offseason. He hoped to achieve it by working with team dietician Lisa McDowell and by eating a lot of his mom’s beef burritos.
DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted a season-in-review article regarding Robby Fabbri, who missed significant time rehabbing from his third ACL injury:
“I put in a lot of hard work,” Fabbri said in his end-of-media session. “A lot of days to be ready and be in the best shape possible coming back. I think coming in with everyone in mid-season form, team’s rolling and I’m just trying to find my game, I thought I did a really good job. Obviously had some ups and downs in little stretches throughout the 28 games, but I was happy coming in, being able to produce, play my game, get some reps in and feel good going into the summer.”When reflecting on his surgery, Fabbri said he weighed several options with the Red Wings medical staff before concluding “a quick clean-up” made the most sense.
“At the end of the day, with this one, it was more just about the timing of when it happened, where we were at in the standings and how many games we had left,” Fabbri said. “After the original injury, I was back skating, working out and trying to get over the hump so we could do this clean-up in the summer.
“Unfortunately, the way the rehab was going right after the injury, we only had a handful of games left. As a group here, we made a decision that going into the summer healthy was gonna be a better call.”
