(Quebec) It’s not just fans who were taken aback by the Canadiens’ most recent trade. The players of the formation experienced the same amazement.
Last Sunday, the CH entered the three-team mega-deal that brought Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Rem Pitlick and Mike Hoffman have gone to other places, but it was especially the acquisition of defender Jeff Petry and goalkeeper Casey DeSmith by the Habs that caught the eye.
Everything indicates that the club’s management is trying to swap them both, but it is not excluded that they will be from the next training camp in September.
DeSmith’s arrival creates immediate congestion at the goalkeeper’s post, as he joins Samuel Montembeault and Jake Allen who, until further notice, are not going anywhere.
” I did not expect that ! “, admitted Montembeault, Thursday, on the sidelines of the ProAm Gagné-Bergeron, charity event chaired by Simon Gagné and Patrice Bergeron at the Videotron Center in Quebec.
“I had seen in the morning that San Jose and Pittsburgh were looking for a third team, but I didn’t think it would be the Canadiens!” he exclaimed. It’s a good exchange, I have confidence in the plan of Kent [Hughes], we are going in the right direction. »
If Montembeault expressed himself with such candor, it may well be because his general manager, shortly after concluding the trade, contacted his agent to tell him that the Quebec goalkeeper should “not to worry “. “He was super correct. I can’t wait to see what will happen,” continued the 26-year-old goalkeeper, who will begin the last season of his contract in 2023-2024. Discussions with the organization for a new agreement have not yet begun, he confirmed.
DeSmith is not the only one whose presence would upset the organization chart. Jeff Petry, if his return materializes, would join a defensive squad that is already sold out. Present in Quebec, Stéphane Robidas, coach of the CH defenders, rightly recalled that the recent departure of Joel Edmundson should give ice time to the many young left-handers of the club.
Without speaking negatively of Petry, on the contrary, Kaiden Guhle and Jordan Harris nevertheless seemed intrigued by the sequence of events.
“I certainly didn’t expect that!” Guhle confessed. “Of course I’m a little curious, but it’s out of my control,” Harris said. It would be nice to count on them [Petry and DeSmith], we’ll see what happens. »
After the transaction, David Savard contacted Petry. Unsurprisingly, he did not expand on the details of their exchange, and also pointed out, with amusement, that “we don’t know if anything else will happen [in connection] with this exchange! “.
He did, however, speak positively about the possibility of Petry returning to the blue-white-red uniform.
Remember that the American’s eight-season stay in Montreal ended in a fishtail. The one who had been a pillar in defense in the accession of the Habs to the Stanley Cup final in 2021, then had a pitiful campaign, during which he notably criticized head coach Dominique Ducharme and asked for a settlement, invoking, among other things, family reasons. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the summer of 2022 along with Ryan Poehling for Mike Matheson.
“It ended up a little weird, but after a fresh start [in Pittsburgh], maybe he’d come back here with a different outlook,” Savard said. We have a different team, too: we built a good foundation last season, and we will continue in the same direction. »
“We lost Edmundson, too,” continued the Quebec defender. If [Petry] starts the year with us, it would give us the presence of a veteran. […] The ravoir could be beneficial. »
One of the few players to really benefit from this transaction could be Rafaël Harvey-Pinard.
The departures of Mike Hoffman and Rem Pitlick had the effect of relieving the congestion that was looming on offense. Even though he now has an exclusive NHL contract in his pocket, Harvey-Pinard could still be sent to the Laval Rocket, in the American League, without going through waivers.
Hoffman gone, his place is consolidated… without being acquired for all that.
“It doesn’t change my mentality,” the 24-year-old winger said. I want to come to training camp and prove that I deserve my place, no matter how many attackers there are. There may be other exchanges, we do not know. »
