MONTREAL -- And this, in all likelihood, is where the most pivotal summer in the Penguins' half-century history morphs from challenging to ... um, confounding?
Which is to say that, upon the conclusion of the NHL Draft here Friday, I was informed by a source with direct, definitive knowledge that Ron Hextall and the Canadiens' front office had conversations this week about a trade that'd bring -- sit down for this -- Jeff Petry to Pittsburgh.
Yeah, I know. I don't get it, either.
Petry's 34 years old, he carries an annual cap hit of $6.25 million over the next three seasons, he's coming off a season that was something of an up-and-down disappointment -- 27 points following four consecutive outputs of 40-plus -- he's been asking the Habs to be dealt since last November and, oh, by the way, he's a defenseman.
And considering the Penguins' priorities should be to get younger, faster and less expensive on the blue line, this would make exactly zero sense. At least as far as I can tell, since that's all I was told. No other details were divulged.
I suppose -- and this is where I veer off into speculation -- it's conceivable that Hextall would have a contract or two he'd happily unload in this direction, in exchange for one that Kent Hughes, Montreal's GM who's now publicly acknowledging he'll try to trade Petry, could discard with equal eagerness. Think, for example, of Jim Rutherford's 2019 trade that sent Tanner Pearson to the Canucks for Erik Gudbranson, both of whom had similar cap hits to Petry. No one in Pittsburgh or Vancouver thought either contract could ever be moved, at least not until they were moved for each other. But even that doesn't compute, since the Canadiens are even harder up against the cap, with less than $2 million in space.
Look, I don't have a whole lot to add on this front, other than this: Buckle up. Because it's about to get bumpy.
Hextall and Brian Burke need to restructure this roster and, as I've been writing since Game 7 in Manhattan, that's got to begin with lowering the percentage of payroll committed to the NHL's highest-paid and not-at-all-worth-it defense corps. Keeping Kris Letang was wonderful, but keeping him at a cap hit that's $1.15 million lower than last season's is that much better. Keeping Evgeni Malkin will be wonderful, too. But more's needed. I'm told here -- for the first time, incidentally -- that the team very much wants to keep Rickard Rakell, and that they've got other acquisitions in mind, in line with some of the personnel needs Mike Sullivan outlined Thursday night.
With only $15.3 million in cap space before Malkin's done, that's going to require extraordinary creativity. And maybe a move or two that, on the surface, makes no sense.
DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS
Bell Centre entrance along Avenue de Canadiens-de-Montreal, Friday morning.
• None of this is to knock Petry, by the way. This is a player who'd been touted as a Norris Trophy candidate through the first half of the 2020-21 regular season, after which he was a significant part of Montreal's stunning run to the Stanley Cup Final. Dude's capable of being really good, and he'd be a fine fit anywhere. Rather, reiterating my thrust from above, it's the exchange that makes no sense.
• Asked on this day if he'd prefer to shed salary before the July 13 opening of free agency, Hextall replied, "Yeah, that's fair to say. Easier said than done. Not a whole bunch of teams that are looking to add salary. So, we'll keep chipping away. We've got a bunch of balls in the air, and we'll see where they land in the end."
• Hextall also acknowledged, with equal candor, "We've kept open lines with with all of our UFAs," when asked about Rakell and Evan Rodrigues. He added, "We'll work with Geno here, and then we'll chip away and see where it goes."
Rakell's average annual value on the six-year contract he just served out was $3,789,444. He'll get a raise, but if he stays in Pittsburgh, there's no chance he'll top the $5.125 million AAV Bryan Rust just got on his six-year, $30.75 million contract. So a range already exists for Rakell between $4 million-$5 million.
• Sure, Kasperi Kapanen can be kept for about a third of his previous AAV of $3.2 million, but I'm still not interested. This roster can't handle seven-figure science projects. This young man was born to play in Edmonton. Air Canada's offering non-stops.
PENGUINS
• I'll leave the intensive dissections of the draft class to Taylor Haase, who's got all the on-location reporting, and Danny Shirey, who's got the Drive to the Net breakdowns. The fun part's coming Sunday with the five-day development camp in Cranberry. Nothing like seeing them for real.
• Zam Plante, the 5-foot-9, 161-pound forward who was the Penguins' fifth-round pick, shows a lot of Jake Guentzel's style in his highlights. But he also shows a lot of Derek Plante, his dad who was a superlative skater and solid scorer for the Sabres.
I couldn't help but ask who's faster:
• Only other commentary I'll offer on the class is on the fourth-rounder, goaltender Sergey Murashov, and it's twofold:
1. Get him out of Russia. As in, right now.
2. Always good to add goaltending, regardless of round. Old-school GMs have long sworn by the practice of selecting at least one in each class. It's not the most important position for nothing.
• One of the Penguins' scouts told me of Owen Pickering, the first-round defenseman who was drafted into the WHL at 5-7 and now stands 6-4, "And he's not done. You watch. Everyone thinks he's still got more growth to come."
If he can clear the net-front, I'll take him at 6-4, thanks. And I'll take him tomorrow.
• Other than the NHL apparently forgetting that functioning WiFi might be a necessity at an event of this scope, the draft itself was awesome. Because of Montreal, because of its own rich history as host, because their fans have no peers when it comes to knowledge and vocal appreciation. Perfect place for the league's first real return to normalcy.
I snapped lots of pics up here to commemorate:
• Thanks for reading. Flying home Saturday, then preparing my Malkin-signs-for-life column.
