Canadiens trade Petry to Penguins

The Montreal Canadiens are shipping defenseman Jeff Petry to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Petry and forward Ryan Poehling are headed to Pittsburgh, while Montreal receives blue-liner Mike Matheson and a 2023 fourth-round draft pick.

This is the Penguins' second trade Saturday. They acquired Petry less than three hours after swapping rearguards with the New Jersey Devils. Pittsburgh sent John Marino to the Devils for Ty Smith and a 2023 third-rounder.

Petry is under contract through 2024-25 at a $6.25-million cap hit, according to CapFriendly. The Canadiens aren't retaining any salary in the trade, per Sportsnet's Eric Engels.

The 34-year-old played the last seven-plus seasons in Montreal and was a key contributor for much of his tenure. He helped the club make an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021, averaging over 24 minutes per game in the playoffs.

Petry had long been rumored to be a trade candidate as the Canadiens' new regime hasn't shied away from reshaping the roster. The 12-year veteran began his career with the Edmonton Oilers, who traded him to Montreal in March 2015 after he played four-plus campaigns in the Alberta capital.

The grizzled veteran declined this past campaign but enjoyed several productive years beforehand. Petry scored at least 10 goals and notched 40 points or more in each of the previous four seasons.

Poehling played a career-high 57 games for Montreal in 2021-22, posting nine goals and eight assists while averaging 12:12 of ice time. The Canadiens drafted him 25th overall in 2017. Poehling's entering the final season of the two-year contract he inked with the Habs last August.

Matheson registered a career-high 31 points in 74 games with the Penguins this past campaign. The 28-year-old has played six-plus NHL seasons; the last two with Pittsburgh after starting off with the Florida Panthers.

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