Penguins A to Z: Jeff Petry was adequate, but so much more was expected

With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2022-23 season coming to an end without any postseason action, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 49 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until next season — with the organization, from mid-level prospect Corey Andonovski to top-six winger Jason Zucker.

This series will publish every weekday leading into the NHL Draft on June 28 and 29.

(Note: All contract information courtesy of Cap Friendly.)

Jeff Petry

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Right

Age: 35

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 209 pounds

2022-23 NHL statistics: 61 games, 31 points (five goals, 26 assists)

Contract: In the second year of a four-year contract with a salary cap hit of $6.25 million. Pending unrestricted free agent in the 2025 offseason.

(Note: Petry’s contract contains no-movement and no-trade clauses. He can submit a list of 15 teams he would accept a trade to.)

Acquired: Trade, July 16, 2022

Last season: Jeff Petry requested a trade from the Montreal Canadiens in January of 2022 for two reasons, each highly profound.

The first, and probably most important, factor was his family. It was difficult for his family to trek between his native Michigan and Montreal, particularly during the height of the pandemic as several quarantine procedures were still in place.

His second consideration? Winning.

The Canadiens were in the midst of a rebuild and weren’t bound to return to a Stanley Cup Final any time soon.

Ultimately, he was dealt to the Penguins and he accomplished at least one of his goals as he is now a tidy five-hour drive from his loved ones in the Great Lakes State.

The winning part? Well, that was quite a misfire as the Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. And Petry was a significant part of that shortcoming.

Acquired in part to add some level of physicality to the Penguins’ blue line, Petry opened the season on the team’s second defensive pairing alongside left-hander Marcus Pettersson. His first two months of the season were sufficient but hardly special.

In his first 28 games of 2022-23, he had 12 points (three goals, nine assists) while averaging 22:20 of ice time per contest. That stretch even included a five-game stint in late November and early December when he filled in as the team’s top defenseman while Kris Letang recovered from a stroke.

Any momentum Petry generated in the first portion of the season came to an immediate halt Dec. 10 when he suffered a left hand injury that sidelined him for 16 games.

Back in the lineup by Jan. 20, Petry largely offered the same steady but unremarkable play he displayed before his injury.

The high point of his season came during a resolute 5-4 overtime road win against the Tampa Bay Lightning when Petry scored two goals.

An undisclosed injury knocked him out for five games in late March as the Penguins were struggling to maintain a playoff position in the standings.

Petry was able-bodied enough to play in the team’s final nine games. While he offered five assists over that span, he, like a lot of his teammates, was simply not up to the task of steering the team to the postseason.

The future: Petry is an obvious target for speculation as far as potentially being moved off the roster.

But that’s easier said than done given the clauses in his contract as well as the limited market for a 35-year-old defenseman coming off a ho-hum season who currently has the second-highest salary cap hit on the team (trailing only forward Sidney Crosby at $8.7 million).

Petry can clearly offer much more than he displayed in 2022-23. Blessed with a strong and accurate shot, he’s fully capable of hitting double-digits in goals and 40 points, even if he’s relegated to the second pairing and the second power-play unit. Additionally, he has the cliched “high hockey IQ” and even if he’s in his mid-30s, he possesses fair — not ideal — skating to keep up with the modern game.

His health is a legit concern, especially given his age. But he’s still capable of being a legit top-four defenseman who can also kill penalties. And right-handed blueliners are always a bit more valuable than lefties.

The Penguins tried to reconfigure their defense as a more balanced outfit with slightly more edge, and Petry was the centerpiece of that endeavor.

Things just didn’t work out as designed for a variety of reasons. Petry was adequate. But so much more was expected.

Follow the Penguins all season long.