Habs GM Kent Hughes First Big Decision Trading Jeff Petry

Petry asked for a trade from the Canadiens after being criticized by fans and Habs media for not standing up for goaltender Samuel Montembeault. During last Saturday night's game between the Canadiens and Oilers, forward Zack Kassian knocked Habs goaltender down inadvertently and there was no repercussions from Montreal's defencemen Jeff Petry. It's just been an all around frustrating season for the Habs and him.

That frustration boiled over and Petry asked for a trade. Kent Hughes is looking to find the best deal possible for both the Canadiens and Jeff Petry. Here's 5 potential teams that could use his services.

1. The Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings and Jeff Petry seems like a good choice for both parties, Jeff Petry is from Michigan and has many friends and family there. Jeff also lives there during the off-season. This would also benefit the young Detroit Red Wings team having a player like Jeff Petry to provide leadership to many of the players. This would also benefit the Canadiens because Detroit are currently in their rebuild and have many young talented prospects that would potentially help Kent Hughes with his rebuild of the Habs.

2. The Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars would also be a great fit because they both have a defenceman wanting a trade. If the Canadiens could manage to get John Klingberg in some kind of deal, I think the Canadiens fans would love that decision if Kent Hughes could pull it off. As for the Dallas Stars, they are a veteran team with a lot of talent and leadership adding a player of Jeff Petry's calibre would benefit the Stars also.

3. The Los Angeles Kings

The Montreal Canadiens would benefit doing business with the Los Angeles Kings because they are loaded with a deep prospect pool. That's perfect for the Canadiens GM Kent Hughes and his rebuild of the Habs, Jeff Petry would would fit in nicely with the veteran in Los Angeles. The Canadiens former general manager Marc Bergevin also is with the Kings now and he and Jeff Petry were very close, Bergevin was the one who traded for him and signed Petry long term while he was in Montreal.

4. The Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators or aka Smashville are a deep team in the Central division. The Predators would benefit adding a Jeff Petry to their line up to compete against the lines of the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues during playoffs time. The Predators would be willing move picks or prospects in this deal so Kent Hughes should think of Nashville. One player that comes to mind is young Philip Tomasino. He is a young talent that doesn't get enough ice time in Nashville, but would definitely get used more in Montreal.

5. The Florida Panthers

The Montreal Canadiens would also benefit if they did business with the Florida Panthers. The Florida Panthers are stacked from top to bottom, and have alot of sweet prospects for Habs GM Kent Hughes. The Florida Panthers are looking to deal former 1st round pick Owen Tippett, if the Canadiens could grab Tippett and a 1st or second round draft pick, I'd say that's huge for the Canadiens. While the Florida Panthers are one of the top teams in the NHL adding Jeff Petry would make the Florida Panthers even more deep come playoffs.

Credit: A winning Habbit