Montreal Canadiens sign Jeff Petry to four-year extension

Jeff Petry is staying with the Montreal Canadiens for the next four years.

The Montreal Canadiens are heading into an important offseason. They decided to take care of some of next year’s business first, thought. The team has announced they’ve signed defenseman Jeff Petry to a four-year extension worth $6.25 million annually. Petry was scheduled to become a free agent after the 2020-21 season.

With this signing, the Canadiens now have their two top options on the right side locked up long-term. Shea Weber is signed to a $7,857,143 cap hit through the 2025-26 season while Petry is signed through the 2024-25 season.

Petry will be 36 years old when his contract expires. His new contract will take effect next season, as he’s still signed to a $5.5 million cap hit for the 2020-21 season. Petry will have $8 million allocated to signing bonuses from the 2022-23 season to the 2024-25 season. It includes a 15-team no-trade clause and a full no-movement clause. Here’s the breakdown of his contract.

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In 71 games last season, Petry put up 11 goals and 29 assists for 40 points. Last season was the third straight season Petry has had at least 40 points. His 0.56 points per game rate last season matched his total from the 2018-19 season, during which he set a career-high with 46 points, so  he was on pace to at least challenge those numbers.

A veteran of 680 regular season games, Petry has 69 career goals and 184 assists for 253 points. He’s averaged at least 20 minutes of ice time per game in each of his 10 seasons. Petry is one of the league’s best play drivers among defensemen. His impact on offense is especially impressive.

While it’s risky to sign a 32 year old defenseman to a four-year deal, Petry has yet to show any signs of decline. If anything, he’s aging like a fine wine, getting better with age. Petry is a physical defenseman, but he’s not known for hitting hard.

He’ll have to adjust his game to be a little less physical as he gets older, but he’s a very smart player who uses his stick effectively, so I believe he’ll remain a very good defenseman for the next four seasons.

Petry’s an important player for the Canadiens. Along with Weber, he’s a leader on a fairly young team and he’s someone younger players look up to. At face value, this seems like a good deal for both the Canadiens and Petry.