Habsent Minded EXTRA: Instant reaction to the Habs trading Petry, Poehling, acquiring Mike Matheson

Jeff Petry has a new home. After having been re-signed to a four-year contract in 2020, Petry, like most of the Montreal Canadiens, had a disappointing 2021/22-season. It was a year which saw Montreal go from briefly being the second best team in the league, to tumbling down the stairs, firing everybody and rebuilding from the basement of the National Hockey League. Petry, who will turn 35 this December, had reportedly requested a trade sometime during the ill-fated 2021-22 season.

Saturday afternoon, the right-handed defenseman who has been a part of the Habs since March 2015, finally got his wish. Together with former first-rounder Ryan Poehling, he was traded to the Elderhostel more commonly known as the Pittsburgh Penguins. In return, the Canadiens received Quebec-born defenseman Mike Matheson and a 2023 fourth-round pick.

Kent Hughes immediately put the freed-up cap space to good use, re-signing last year’s waiver wire pickup Rem Pitlick to a two year, one-way contract which has an AAV of $1.1 million.

In this EXTRA-version of Habsent Minded, The Oracle of New Brunswick — who during daytime goes by the name Matt Drake — gets together with Montreal’s adopted Swede, Anton Rasegård, to provide you with an instant reaction on the two moves and what may follow.

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