HABS sign Jeff Petry 6 years, 33 million dollars

[yave1964]

 Dear God. This is what the market is for a defenseman this year.

 

 Jeff Petry just signed a six year deal averaging five and a half million dollars to remain with the Canadiens. Montreal made the move to take him off the market before free agency begins July First.

 

 Petry on the year had 7 goals and 15 assists for 22 points in 78 games. His total with the Habs between regular season and postseason was:

 

32 Games

5 goals

5 assists

-1 plus/minus

 

He is a solid player who has been stuck in Hockey Hell in Edmonton for his entire career before coming over to the Canadiens at the deadline. His signing gives the Habs a top four of Subban, Emelin, Petry and Markov, which is a nice solid veteran base.

 

My personal opinion is the Habs overpaid for him, a 25 point a year guy who quite frankly made more than his share of defensive lapses in Edmonton, it is not as if he were Rod Langway surrounded with horrible players, he is an average defensive player, maybe slightly better with limited offensive upside.

 I am just freaking glad he signed now instead of signing with the hometown Wings. I would have loved to have had him for four years at four million but no way at the laughable terms the Habs just gave.

 

 If this is what defenseman are going for, Mike Green is going to need to open his own bank.

[briere48]

that's way too much, if it was a three or four year deal for 3.5  or 4 million, that would be a steal, 5 million for 6 years too much.

[flyercanuck]

Yiiikes!!

 

it's good to be a Dman in the new NHL.

[mojo1917]

@yave1964

I thought he was very good for the Habs in the post-season.

however I don't know if 5.5 x 6 is cool with me. for a player of his ilk.  I will say i'd rather have him at that number than MacDud at his number.

 

I don't know if I see the market for one dimensional players as bullish, I think Mike Green has a rude awakening and signs for less.... as i type this I can see Ed Snider sending a car for him and walking MG into Hextall's office saying "Ron this is that Mike Green fella , see what you two can work out " then whispers loudly ("he's a good skater like you were talking about, give him whatever he wants")

 

back to Petry , it's a defensman's world and we're just living in it.

[J0e Th0rnton]

 Dear God. This is what the market is for a defenseman this year.

 

 Jeff Petry just signed a six year deal averaging five and a half million dollars to remain with the Canadiens. Montreal made the move to take him off the market before free agency begins July First.

 

 Petry on the year had 7 goals and 15 assists for 22 points in 78 games. His total with the Habs between regular season and postseason was:

 

32 Games

5 goals

5 assists

-1 plus/minus

 

He is a solid player who has been stuck in Hockey Hell in Edmonton for his entire career before coming over to the Canadiens at the deadline. His signing gives the Habs a top four of Subban, Emelin, Petry and Markov, which is a nice solid veteran base.

 

My personal opinion is the Habs overpaid for him, a 25 point a year guy who quite frankly made more than his share of defensive lapses in Edmonton, it is not as if he were Rod Langway surrounded with horrible players, he is an average defensive player, maybe slightly better with limited offensive upside.

 I am just freaking glad he signed now instead of signing with the hometown Wings. I would have loved to have had him for four years at four million but no way at the laughable terms the Habs just gave.

 

 If this is what defenseman are going for, Mike Green is going to need to open his own bank.

Yave, I still think you underrate Petry. JR, one of our only Oiler fans has been praising him to the sky for years and showing through numbers just how effective he was even in that black hole of an organization. How good he is defensively and at moving the puck and how underused offensively he was because stupid MacT wanted Schultz to be their guy.

 

So yeah, I started watching Petry and began to admire his game and realized he could be awesome if only he could get out. Well he did, and he did pretty well for himself. You will notice few, if any Habs fans are complaining about this contract. In fact, a lot of them were calling for them to immediately resign him for up to as much as 6 mill per season.

 

I would have paid that to get Petry and happily.

 

Just watch how he does next season. Give him a chance to show what he can do all year on a team that is competent instead of that wreck of a team he just came from. A good chunk of of most defensemen's numbers come from what forwards can do with their passes to break out of the zone + what they do with the rebounds of a Dman's point shots and the forwards they play with strongly affect that and their +/-

[JR Ewing]

Joe said some of what I was going to mention, so I'll be terse. He's a good defenseman, but I would have preferred to pay him a bit less than what he got.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Well, giving a decent 27 yr old defenseman a 6 yr contract isn't the most terrible idea in the world.

 

5.5M though?

That's what Matt Carle makes about, so I guess if that is an example of an annual salary for a defenseman under 30 years of age, it CERTAINLY means that a guy like Victor Hedman (who will be 26 when he comes due, Cap hit $4M, and will make 5.75M and 4.25M over the final two years of his current contract) will DEFINITELY be in the 6-7M range.

 

Yikes.

 

That means the Bolts are gonna have to drop some salary (I am thinking Filppula and Carle), in order to be able to sign Stamkos, Hedman, AND however many of The Triplets they can possibly squeeze under the cap when their time comes as well!

 

Sorry, got off track here thinking about how this Petry signing will affect the defenseman market not only this off season (Green and Sekera are UFA's as well), but in the next off season or two as well.

Also, this signing may affect the market for teams wanting Keith Yandle and/or Braydon Coburn once THEIR deals are up....both are have a season left apiece.

 

Honestly, I don't think it's a bad deal for the Habs....so long as they give themselves enough room to be able to sign a sniper, which they need REAL badly.

The Habs were ridiculed a bit for giving PK Subban the contract he got, but even with that one, it was a deal that needed to get done and now, with Petry, Subban, and Emelin, the Habs have a very nice top 3...throw in Markov to make it a top 4, although Markov, at 36 and only two years left, can't really be considered part of the Habs longterm plans on the ice.

[yave1964]

@J0e Th0rnton@JR Ewing

 

I agree he is a good defenseman. Good being the key word. A second pair guy, maybe the stay at home first pair to allow Subban to roam.

 

But 33 million over six years for that kind of player?? It just seems absurd to me. We are not talking about a man who does any one thing to hang your hat on and say he is among the leagues best at. Offense he is okay and nothing more until proven different. 10 points in 32 games for Montreal is nothing to write home about. Defensively, he is sound but prone to blown coverage, Joe, I love watching Edmonton in HD at home, they have the best looking uniforms and their ice seem made for HD. Petry, being a Detroit boy was the guy I always watched. For some reason he seems to always have his worst game against the Wings, I think two own goals and one memorable turnover to Datsyuk that I still laugh about.

 But against other teams, his defense has been unspectacular but acceptable. He may improve with the right partner and a real goaltender. With the right terms I would have loved him with the Wings, but c'mon, 33 million dollars for a good defensive d-man (not great) with okay to good offensive skill, that is the epitome of overpaying. Glad Montreal did and not the Wings.

[Phillygrump]

The contract is a bargain......compared to Andrew McDonald's contract. At least Petry is not in his 30s.

[jammer2]

  I do think Petry's overall recognition took a big hit by being stuck in Edmonton for a lot of years. He never got talked about enough cause he was buried in the God forsaken north on a brutal team. Having said that, he's a slightly better than average all round d-man....that is it. He has no flair for the offensive side of the equation and his defensive zone coverage is good, but not great. 

 

 This is just a sign of the times. The Habs did what they had to, based on what their interpretation of the open market will be like a a few weeks. I will say, I don't think they were far off, there will be a LOT of very average players making 5-7 mill a year this FA period. Every year, the bar gets raised, and GM's pay out the nose to slightly improve their team. This is no different. This is just Montreal wanting to secure their guy early, and it's a telling sign, they feel they would have had to pay more if others got in on the bargaining. Safe to say, 6 mill a year for the an average NHL d-man is the new bar....makes drafting and developing your own players that much more important. You will not win any cups adding a few additions like this. Personally, if I was the Habs GM, I try to make it work with the prospcts and I have and try to add GOALS.....GOALS and more Goals in free agency. This signing has significant hurt their ability to add offense, the one key component they were sadly lacking in.

 

 The market will be crazy this year, but MUCH worse in the future, so much so....that even McDonald will look like a solid signing eventually.

[jammer2]

@yave1964  I can't really select any of the potential picks in the poll....I'd like a  4th option, a sign of the times....cause the contract is to much for him, but it will fall into line with the crazy market. He's not worth that much, but the FA market would have given him that or maybe even more....

[JR Ewing]

@J0e Th0rnton@JR Ewing

 

I agree he is a good defenseman. Good being the key word. A second pair guy, maybe the stay at home first pair to allow Subban to roam.

 

But 33 million over six years for that kind of player?? It just seems absurd to me. We are not talking about a man who does any one thing to hang your hat on and say he is among the leagues best at. Offense he is okay and nothing more until proven different. 10 points in 32 games for Montreal is nothing to write home about. Defensively, he is sound but prone to blown coverage, Joe, I love watching Edmonton in HD at home, they have the best looking uniforms and their ice seem made for HD. Petry, being a Detroit boy was the guy I always watched. For some reason he seems to always have his worst game against the Wings, I think two own goals and one memorable turnover to Datsyuk that I still laugh about.

 But against other teams, his defense has been unspectacular but acceptable. He may improve with the right partner and a real goaltender. With the right terms I would have loved him with the Wings, but c'mon, 33 million dollars for a good defensive d-man (not great) with okay to good offensive skill, that is the epitome of overpaying. Glad Montreal did and not the Wings.

 

We don't seem to be too far from each other on Petry. I think he's a good defenseman, but certainly not high end. He doesn't score a lot of points, but he's never really been put into that situation at all. In Edmonton, he faced tough zone starts and the team used Justin Schultz ahead of him in an offensive role (which I get). The same thing happened in Montreal: he faced the toughest zone starts, but gave up fewer chances against/60. I'll take that.

 

But... Montreal threw about an extra $1MM at him than I would prefer to pay.

[hf101]

Anything over 4 years for a Free Agent imo it too long of a contract.    This is a steal of a deal for Petry.  

[radoran]

The contract is a bargain......compared to Andrew McDonald's contract. At least Petry is not in his 30s.

Compared to North Korea, Burma might be a nice place.

[Phillygrump]

Compared to North Korea, Burma might be a nice place.

 

Exactly. Perspective is everything.

[Commander Clueless]

Yiiikes!!

 

it's good to be a Dman in the new NHL.

 

Especially one with a right-handed shot.

 

 

I want to say it's a little too much, but I have a feeling that would be wrong based on what we're about to see in free agency. I could be wrong.

 

 

Petry's a good #3/2nd pairing defenseman. Montreal needed him back, so good for them.  I have to say good signing.

[radoran]

Petry's a good #3/2nd pairing defenseman. Montreal needed him back, so good for them. I have to say good signing.

 

I can see the logic in this, but it reeks of the current problem in the NHL where a short term "need" is fixed with a long term contract.

 

"We need a 2nd pair defenseman next year - sign someone for six years quick!"

 

Add in "and we traded a second for him - so we have to keep him!" and you're verging on Andrew MacDonald territory...

 

Petry is a fairly defensively responsible, middling defenseman with average at best offensive skills and he just "commanded" not only $5M+ a year, but SIX YEARS?

 

Put your analyst on danger money, baby!

 

One can only assume the phrases "next lockout" and "compliance buyout" were thrown around the Habs' conference table when discussing this deal...

[flyercanuck]

@radoran

 

Ya, hoping to be able to use an amnesty buyout on a contract you just signed someone to is not great planning.

[Commander Clueless]

I can see the logic in this, but it reeks of the current problem in the NHL where a short term "need" is fixed with a long term contract.

 

"We need a 2nd pair defenseman next year - sign someone for six years quick!"

 

Add in "and we traded a second for him - so we have to keep him!" and you're verging on Andrew MacDonald territory...

 

Petry is a fairly defensively responsible, middling defenseman with average at best offensive skills and he just "commanded" not only $5M+ a year, but SIX YEARS?

 

Put your analyst on danger money, baby!

 

One can only assume the phrases "next lockout" and "compliance buyout" were thrown around the Habs' conference table when discussing this deal...

 

Wouldn't be surprised if this is the type of deal it takes to land free agents this offseason. Players and GMs will always push the boundaries until new boundaries are set and we miss half a year of hockey, minimum.

 

To be fair, Petry is 27 (the youngest normal FA age), so six years puts him at 33/34, which isn't all that ludicrous.

 

Also, Petry has actually shown he can be good every once in awhile, unlike a certain MacDonald. 

 

I kid, I kid....kind of.

[radoran]

Wouldn't be surprised if this is the type of deal it takes to land free agents this offseason.

 

And it's, by all accounts, a terrible free agent year.

 

Players and GMs will always push the boundaries until new boundaries are set and we miss half a year of hockey, minimum.

 

Exactly, It is simply ludicrous. Jeff freaking Petry is a $5M a year player? Seriously? He's "making" $7M next season. No joke.

 

Seven. Million. Dollars.

 

To be fair, Petry is 27 (the youngest normal FA age), so six years puts him at 33/34, which isn't all that ludicrous.

 

Which is all well and good, if he wanted the security of a long term deal. But he got "security" AND a boat load of money. There will be an argument - like there is with MacDud™ - that he will be "worth it" by the end of his deal.

 

Let's say that is the case - for the sake of argument. What does that mean Matt Carle is "worth" at the end of his deal in two years at age 32/33? The "common wisdom" when the Flyers refused to sign Carle was that his asking price of $5M+ was "too expensive" for a player like Carle.

 

Now two years later players who aren't even Matt Carle are getting $5M+

 

Hell, Duncan Keith is a $5.5M cap hit...

 

Also, Petry has actually shown he can be good every once in awhile, unlike a certain MacDonald.

 

You're forgetting the nineteen games that MacDonald played in Philadelphia before the Flyers committed six years to him. He was perfectly serviceable for nineteen games once. And "looked okay" in the playoffs.

 

Oddly enough, Petry played nineteen regular season games for the Habs this year - and "looked okay" in the playoffs - and got a six year deal from it...

 

I, for one, expect Great Things from Petry.

 

Great. Things.™

[JR Ewing]

 

Let's say that is the case - for the sake of argument. What does that mean Matt Carle is "worth" at the end of his deal in two years at age 32/33? The "common wisdom" when the Flyers refused to sign Carle was that his asking price of $5M+ was "too expensive" for a player like Carle.

 

Now two years later players who aren't even Matt Carle are getting $5M+

 

Hell, Duncan Keith is a $5.5M cap hit...

 

 

In fairness...

 

The cap was almost $12M lower when Keith signed his contract. If Montreal had signed Petry to the same cap percentage as Keith, Petry's AAV would be over $6.6MM. I'm not for a moment arguing that Petry is as good as Keith (who would doubtless have made even more on a team with more cap space). And, as I said earlier in the thread, I think Petry's getting more money than I would prefer to pay him, by about $1M. But, the days of judging a player's salary mostly by looking at what others make is pretty much gone. A team's given cap space, needs are big factors. A team may or may not have the depth to comfortably replace a player. Teams are locking up RFAs for long term deals before they reach UFA status, so a 27-yr old player Petry hits the market and there's not a lot else out there, increasing the demand and price. Montreal sunk 2nd and 5th round picks into acquiring Petry, and so probably felt more of an urgent need to get the signing done. For every reason I can think of, and doubtless lots of others that haven't occurred, comparables are now deeper than "Player A makes this much, so Player B should make that much."

 

Again, he makes about $1M more than I would prefer to pay him if I were a GM. The figure probably lies somewhere between Craig MacTavish's idiotic offer of $3.5M and Montreal's acceptance of $5.5M.

[radoran]

And, as I said earlier in the thread, I think Petry's getting more money than I would prefer to pay him, by about $1M.

 

Yeah, and I was on board with compensating MacDud™ at about what he was offered by the Islanders (who I felt were trying to overpay to keep him in the first place...)

 

And I'd put Petry on a higher level than MacDud™

 

Montreal sunk 2nd and 5th round picks into acquiring Petry, and so probably felt more of an urgent need to get the signing done.

 

Which was also the "rationale" behind signing MacDud™ - the Flyers gave up a 2nd and a 3rd for him (yes, they gave the Islanders more than the Habs gave Edmonton for Petry #homercoaster)

 

I just find it to be a terrible rationale.

 

The root problem is that basically average players are getting ridiculous money.

[JR Ewing]

Yeah, and I was on board with compensating MacDud™ at about what he was offered by the Islanders (who I felt were trying to overpay to keep him in the first place...)

 

And I'd put Petry on a higher level than MacDud™

 

 

 

 

Which was also the "rationale" behind signing MacDud™ - the Flyers gave up a 2nd and a 3rd for him (yes, they gave the Islanders more than the Habs gave Edmonton for Petry #homercoaster)

 

I just find it to be a terrible rationale.

 

The root problem is that basically average players are getting ridiculous money.

 

I pretty much agree with all of that, especially the "sunk cost fallacy" part of it. Besides, the Habs have greater need with increasing offense more than just about everything else.

[J0e Th0rnton]

Other defensemen who make around as much as Petry

Wisniewski 5.5 cap hit. Strangely, was constantly scratched by the ducks during this playoff run. One way offensive Dman

OEL. 5.5 mil Worth every penny and more!

Duncan Keith 5.5 mil. Steal of a contract signed when it was merely a slight discount, thank god since Toews and Kane got greedy and screwed the team.

Bogosian 5.125 mil. Petry is better

Wideman 5.25 mill. So streaky. Great year followed by a "Who?" year

Faulk. 5.5 when hi extension kicks in. Worth every penny

Seabrook: 5.8 mill. Worth much more and will look for a raise, giving no more hometown discounts because of Kane/Toews.

Brian Campbell 7.1 mill.....LOL

Doughty: 7.5 mill worth every penny

Suter: See above

Subban: 9 mill......Derp? He is great, but overpaid

Weber: 7.8. Worth every penny

Andy greene: 5 mill. Below petry

Boychuk/Leddy: 5.5 and 6 mill. Boychuk is worth more, Leddy is not

Girardi/Staal: Petry better than both of them and makes = or less

Yandle: 5.5 mill, worth it, albeit one way guy who avoids hits like Kessel

Karlsson: Obviously worth it

Methot: 4.9, but still within a few hundred k. Petry is better

Macdud: LOL. Given a choice of Macdud at 3 million or PETRY AT 6, I WOULD TAKE pETRY. aND mACDUD MAKES 5

Letang: Worth it when healthy. So 50% of the time

Burns: 5.75 mill. Worth every penny for a one way guy

Pietrangelo: 6.5 Worth every penny

Bouwmeester: 5.4, Petry is better now and Bouwmeester still have 5 years left

Carle: 5.5 LOL

Phaneuf: 7 million.....Overpaid by around 2.5 million

Edler: 5 million. Petry is better

Niskanen/Orpik: Similar 5.5 to 5.75 long term. Niskanen is worth it. Orpik is too, but not for much longer

Enstrom/Myers/Buff: Enstrom is sorta worth it, Myers needs to prove. Buff definitely

[yave1964]

@J0e Th0rnton

lets throw out the elite, the Doughty class. Of the rest, while I disagree with you on quite a few, I place Petry squarely in the middle of the pack. So if you want to say this is the market for a solid yet unspectacular dman so be it. I think it is absurd, not denigrating Petry just 33 million dollars over six years. I grudgingly see the case, I would hands down want him as a number 3 any day of the week over anyone the Wings have in that role, just not that deal. Maybe, a big maybe, 4 years at 5 millionbut six years? No.