PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – His 12-year career played with two legendary franchises that didn’t win squat. Only one time was Jeff Petry on a team that had a substantial run, that miracle 2020-21 Canadiens postseason that started by beating the Penguins. When Petry eventually picked up his phone Saturday after missing a call from the Canadiens GM, the Michigan State star said he and his family were thrilled.
“When my agent mentioned it to me, my eyes got big,” Petry said. “You look at what they’ve done in the past and the roster that they have. Just talking to people, it’s a great organization, a great team. Their want to win is very apparent. That’s the most exciting thing for me to be on a team that’s ready and eager to win.”
It really is about winning for Petry. The 34-year-old hasn’t seen much of it.
· 2 full seasons on a winning team
· Combined record 414-581 (a .416 winning percentage)
*that includes all of Montreal’s 50 wins in 2014 even though he only played in 19 games)
· 4 times in the playoffs
· 48 career playoff games
He said he was hearing mostly of rumors of him going to Detroit and Dallas and a few others before getting the call. In Pittsburgh, Petry’s name has been mentioned the last couple of trade deadlines. Now the two-way defenseman will join a team with future Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
“I don’t think I see it as pressure, it’s excitement for me,” Petry said. “They’ve been there and everyone wants to get back there. What I look forward to most is the team is built with one goal in mind. For me to be able to join that and do my part to help the team win, it’s exciting for me.”
Petry said he’s already heard from Crosby, Letang and a few others. He says he received a bunch of text messages, many saying of how great it was for him to play with that trio as opposed to defending them. He doesn’t know a lot about the Pens system, but will get crash courses over the next few weeks.
Petry said historically he’s had the most success with defensive minded partners. A quick glance of the current roster, the right-shot Petry most likely would be with left-shot Marcus Pettersson. Prospect PO Joseph and newly acquired Ty Smith are other lefty shots, assuming Brian Dumoulin stays with Letang.
There is a strictly personal reason he is happy about where he landed as well.
“Pittsburgh is a little over four-hour drive from my house in Michigan,” Petry said. “That’s nice. Being able to hop in the car on a Friday night and be home at a reasonable hour. The past couple of years with COVID hasn’t been easy on anybody, living in Canada, far away from my family. My wife’s family is from Houston, so even farther from them. It was hard for them to come up and help with the boys and to see them.”
“It is nice that it is all in the past and we are closer to home and all can be together again.”
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