Signing 27-year-old defenceman Jeff Petry to a new deal wouldn’t make the Montreal Canadiens a Stanley Cup favourite next year, but were he to move on it would be hard to find a replacement with his skill, skating and size.Eric Bolte
It's universally known as garbage bag day, but the occasion when NHL players clear out their lockers might be more appropriately described as the day of elucidation.
So-called "upper body" injuries become broken chest bones, previously delicate matters are addressed frankly, and impending free agents peel back the corner of a card or two in their hand.
If there is one large question mark hovering over the Montreal Canadiens, it's the status of defenceman Jeff Petry, who stands to become one of the most sought-after free agents this July.
As his team of the past three months gathered for physicals, exit interviews and perhaps one last dinner together, the Michigan native said he's open to returning to the Habs.
"Everything's been first class here. It's definitely something that's going to be a strong consideration," he said, adding "there's no other organization like it."
It also seems fairly clear he and his wife prefer Montreal to Edmonton, a place he left behind at the trade deadline.
"The city, it's just – there's nothing to compare to Edmonton, there's a lot more going on ... everything as a whole has been great here," he said.
When it was put to the 27-year-old that his hometown Detroit Red Wings will also be looking for defensive help this summer, he said, "growing up it was always a dream, but it's got to be something that's the right fit."
First-time unrestricted free agents rarely re-up early – it means passing up a once-in-a-career chance – so the open market and a big-money offer from Detroit and other suitors is still the likeliest scenario.
But Petry wants to win and referenced a couple of things the Wings don't have: the best goalie in the world (Carey Price), and young stars in key roles.
One of them, P.K. Subban, was one of many teammates to make it plain he would like Petry to return, and when asked how close his team is to winning a Stanley Cup, his (ever so slightly biased) answer was: "Close. Very close. We're not far, but we're not there yet."
Petry's signature on a new deal wouldn't make the Habs a Cup favourite next year, but were he to move on it would be hard to find a replacement with his skill, skating and size.
The Habs' blueline has an aging veteran in Andrei Markov on the top pair with Subban and a mix of middling veterans and still-improving youngsters behind them.
One of the latter, 22-year-old Nathan Beaulieu, is in line for a new contract as a restricted free agent. He saw limited playoff action because of a thunderous open-ice hit from Ottawa's Erik Karlsson in the first round.
When Beaulieu turned up for practice a few days later in a tinted visor there was speculation he had suffered a concussion. It was, he said, "a trick".
So what was the injury? "I fractured my sternum," the former first-round pick said.
If that sounds horribly painful, it is.
But this is the point of the year when hockey players demonstrate how tough and/or reckless they are. P.A. Parenteau was playing with a damaged shoulder, Lars Eller hurt his groin in Game 2 against Tampa Bay but carried on, Max Pacioretty revealed the problem that kept him out of the first game of the playoffs was indeed a concussion (or, as he put it, "brain injury").
Beyond contracts there are plenty of other issues to address, scoring chief among them.
Forward Alex Galchenyuk shapes up to be a major contributor to the forward line in years to come – the restricted free agent will need to be signed this season – and the 21-year-old was asked if he prefers centre to left wing.
It's a question he has answered with equivocation in the past, and once again he said, "put me at centre, I gotta play centre and I've got to be the best I can be at that position. Put me at wing, I'm going to help the team win on the wing."
But Galchenyuk, who had a disappointing postseason, did make a nine-game cameo in the middle this season and suggested he would be open to doing so again.
"I felt comfortable playing at centre too, I like that position as well," he said.
Third-year players don't typically get to decide where they play, but it seems if Galchenyuk is really to be the Habs' No. 1 centre of the future, the team should find out if he can do the job sooner rather than later.
One final talking point from clear-out day: How did this year's experiment of going with four associate captains instead of handing the "C" to one player work out?
Centre Manny Malhotra, one of several veterans who almost certainly won't return (Mike Weaver, Sergei Gonchar and Bryan Allen are also on the list), waded into the great captaincy debate, casting his vote for Pacioretty.
Weaver, for his part, said "it was smart not having a captain, I think it worked well."
Subban, one of the four associates, said that while it would be an honour to wear a "C" instead of an "A", "they don't just throw letters around in this organization."
But perhaps the best explanation came from the man who is the de facto captain.
"We have a lot of guys that lead by example. We have a few guys that are vocal. I really believe that a letter doesn't make you the ultimate leader," Price said. "You can put it on anybody, it doesn't really matter."
The B.C. native will attend next month's NHL awards banquet with his good pal Subban (Price is up for the Vézina and Hart trophies, Subban for the Norris), but he expressed a sense of "emptiness" now that the season has ended.
"When it's over, it's over," he said. "There's not much else you can do about it, really."