Reporter connects Leafs to defenseman on an Atlantic Division rival

Today on TSN1050's Game Play radio show, Leafs reporter David Alter discussed the possibility of the Leafs acquiring Petry.

"Maybe, there is that talk with the Leafs in terms of changing the defense and stuff hasn't really been done there and Petry could be someone who could shift the makeup there. It's a matter of if you do that, what kind of cap hit goes and what kind of assets would Montreal be looking at? ... It could make sense, I can see a fit. It does look like the Leafs should kind of bolster the defense. "

The 35-year-old has the size that Treliving prefers at 6'3 and 210 pounds and isn't afraid to use it. He finished last season with 190 hits and 111 blocks but he also quietly put up 31 points. Petry is in the third year of a 4-year deal he signed with the Habs in 2020 that has a cap hit of $6.25M per season, but with the Pens retaining 25% of that ($1,562,500), the Habs are only responsible for $4,687,500 and if the Leafs could get the Habs to retain some of it, getting Petry for under $4M would be some tidy work for Treliving. As Alter said though, it also depends on what the Habs are looking for in return and the Leafs' prospect pool is not very deep after Matthew Knies and Nicholas Robertson. Not only that, but the Leafs would also have to move additional salary out as they are currently $2.1M over the cap with Jake Muzzin and Matt Murray on LTIR. With two months until the regular season, however, there is lots of time for the Leafs to continue to reshape their roster and cap situation.