NHL Rumors: Canadiens To Trade Veteran Defenseman

In an interview with La Presse, Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes noted that he's willing to move Jeff Petry if they find a deal that works for both parties.

Petry is in the first year of his four-year, $25 million contract with the Canadiens. Although he has a 15-team no-trade list, it seems that he is very open to the idea of being moved. At this juncture of the season, Montreal has an 8-29-7 record and is at the bottom of the NHL. With new management, they are also are expected to embark on a full-on rebuild due to how poorly they have been playing.

However, moving Petry certainly seems like it will be a hard task. The 34-year-old is having the worst season of his entire career so far. In 37 games, he has one goal, five assists, and a minus-7 rating. This also comes after he had at least 40 points over the last four seasons. It's also been a hard season for him personally, too, as his wife and children had to return to the United States due to Quebec's strict COVID-19 restrictions.

Although teams may believe that Petry could bounce back from here, he will need to pick his up noticeably for any trade to go down. Time will tell what ends up happening with him, but if both he and the Canadiens have it their ways, he will be dealt.