Jeff Petry

[thadd]

How do you guys feel about his play so far?

Looking at his real time stats I think that him and Smid look a lot different this year. Both he and Smid are landing a lot of hits and blocked shots, but the big difference maker is that Petry isn't getting any tallies in the takeaways this year. He was never great in the giveaway department, but last year he had a lot of takeaways and I think that I starting to stink this pairing up a bit.

Thoughts?

Click to read more...

 

[The Nuge]

He's by far our best dman, and has continued that this year. We need to get a top pairing guy to play with him, and we're looking decent

 

[Dazed and Confused]

He's by far our best dman, and has continued that this year. We need to get a top pairing guy to play with him, and we're looking decent

Argeed, while he himself isn't a top pairing dman, I'd like to see Belov move into the spot next to Petry. This let's Smid slide into a better role for him beside J. Schultz, and gives Justin a partner that can cover for his defencive shortcoming unlike N. Schultz, Ference, and Belov.


Belov-Petry
Smid-J.Schultz
Gerbeshkov-Ference

 

[Joey Moss]

I wonder what kind of contract we'll be looking at by the end of the year.. Right now he's got to be in the 3.5 range and if he keeps this up probably more..

 

[HockeyGuy1964]

Didn't he take a ridiculous dive in the Ottawa game to give them a 5 on 3?

I may be mistaken but somebody did.

 

[tiger_80]

He's an upper tier second pairing guy, so he will get paid accordingly--4-4.5M.

 

[Mr Forever]

He's the kind of guy who would look unreal next to Weber or Chara. He's a good player now, but he's like the perfect complementary D man.

 

[The Perfect Human*]

He's the kind of guy who would look unreal next to Weber or Chara. He's a good player now, but he's like the perfect complementary D man.

He could easily lead an effective 2nd pairing, one of the best in the league.

Right now he's being asked to shoulder the load on our top pairing - and without a capable top-3 defenseman to do it with (Smid and Ference are both #3's), he's barely kept his head out of the water. Even with the team's early-season struggles in net, he's only -1 to start the season.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If this team had 4 Jeff Petry's in its top-4 - no one would be raising the defense as an issue.

He doesn't even need a Weber/Chara to make him look functional. If he had a legit top-3 guy - someone like Hamhuis, Seidenberg, or Bouwmeester - you'd be looking at one of the better top-pairings in the league.

 

[McDNicks17]

And that -1 is with an .808 SV% from the goalie behind him when he's on the ice.

 

[The Perfect Human*]

And that -1 is with an .808 SV% from the goalie behind him when he's on the ice.

On a team with an ES +/- number as bad as the Oilers have had the last few seasons - him being able to maintain a + given the quality and quantity of the minutes he's playing is almost amazing.

Unless the whole team goes to **** (teetering that way as it is), I expect him to be on the + side of that number again this year.

He's one of those guys (like Seidenberg) who goes to a contender and becomes a complete revelation. Seidenberg toiled in PHX/CAR/FLA for years before going to Boston. Boom, he's suddenly known as one of the more lauded #2 defensemen in the league.

 

[Hynh]

Hopefully they find him a left hand partner that can move the puck and not be a disaster in the defensive zone, either one of the prospects stepping up or an external addition. Smid is holding him back and Ference's contract was a complete mistake.

Argeed, while he himself isn't a top pairing dman, I'd like to see Belov move into the spot next to Petry. This let's Smid slide into a better role for him beside J. Schultz, and gives Justin a partner that can cover for his defencive shortcoming unlike N. Schultz, Ference, and Belov.


Belov-Petry
Smid-J.Schultz
Gerbeshkov-Ference

I really need to pay more attention to Belov. I can't even form an opinion on him.

 

[nexttothemoon]

I agree Petry is probably somewhat underrated.. BUT when Jeff Petry is clearly your best dman.. that's a pretty damning indictment of the rest of the d-core.

None of Ference/Smid/NSchultz/Belov stand out to me and scream that they are any better than #4 type dmen.

Justin Schultz continues to be a horror show defensively. I was willing to cut him slack last season because he was a rookie AND he was the only Oilers dman worth anything offensively... but cmon... this guy bleeds goals against when he's out there. I fully expect him to once again be one of the worst +/- dmen in the NHL this year. He's truly the perfect definition of "dangerous in all areas of the ice". He honestly should be getting 3rd pairing ES minutes and getting top PP duty. He's a rich man's MAB at this point.

Back to the original point though... Petry needs a hell of a lot of help on D from the other 5 guys out there who all have flaws defensively/offensively. I'm hoping Belov eventually can become another all-around decent 2-way dman because really Petry is the only one who can make that claim on the team right now.

 

[McFlyingV]

Petry would be a stud along side a true top pairing dman. The only thing I wish he would do more is unleash that rocket from the point.

 

[Groucho]

My only complaint with Petry is that he's pretty nonchalant about clearing the puck out of the zone. Particularly on the PK.

 

[bucks_oil]

My only complaint with Petry is that he's pretty nonchalant about clearing the puck out of the zone. Particularly on the PK.

Yeah... I'm with you. I don't see the same guy the others are describing. I see a guy with a decent toolset, who plays a very steady game, until that moment when he completely flubs a clearing attempt or passes the puck onto the opponents stick.

I keep wanting to see what you all see... and I'll see it for 20 of his 22 minutes (though I don't see the offensive game anymore) until he causes the backbreaking turnover.

I'm sure the stats don't support this, and I know its JMO... so I'll keep watching but remain underwhelmed.

 

[Beerfish]

An inconsistent up and down player. Does some things well, others very poorly. His status has been elevated over the last few years as the oilers D as a whole is not great. Useful player to have but could be a lot better in my opinion.

 

[CupofOil]

Yet another example of an Oiler player with a very good skillset but lacking a toolbox.
He makes some nice plays which gives the impression that he's a good defensemen then he will have a brainfart or two which reminds you that he's merely a decent defenseman who is in over his head.

He could be a lot better if he ever put it together but i don't think he has the Hockey IQ to do so unless he is sheltered by his D partner which leads me to my next point which is that i think Smid brings him down a bit. This is a guy who I always thought was overrated by the Oiler fanbase because he has heart and is a good character guy which blinds fans to his deficiencies.
The fact remains that he's average to below average in every other aspect of his game outside of blocking shots, he isn't overly physical either despite his overinflated hits stat.

One of the biggest problems with the Oilers is that these two guys are out of their element as the premier shutdown pairing. They often have difficulty getting the puck out of their zone and struggle knowing what to do with it when they gain offensive zone entry. Similar to their forwards, the Oilers lack anybody on the blueline who can play an above average 2 way game. Petry is the best bet of the group to be a solid 2 way guy but he just doesn't have the consistency to be counted on and i'm not sure that he ever will.

 

[The Perfect Human*]

Yet another example of an Oiler player with a very good skillset but lacking a toolbox.
He makes some nice plays which gives the impression that he's a good defensemen then he will have a brainfart or two which reminds you that he's merely a decent defenseman who is in over his head.

He could be a lot better if he ever put it together but i don't think he has the Hockey IQ to do so unless he is sheltered by his D partner which leads me to my next point which is that i think Smid brings him down a bit. This is a guy who I always thought was overrated by the Oiler fanbase because he has heart and is a good character guy which blinds fans to his deficiencies.
The fact remains that he's average to below average in every other aspect of his game outside of blocking shots, he isn't overly physical either despite his overinflated hits stat.

One of the biggest problems with the Oilers is that these two guys are out of their element as the premier shutdown pairing. They often have difficulty getting the puck out of their zone and struggle knowing what to do with it when they gain offensive zone entry. Similar to their forwards, the Oilers lack anybody on the blueline who can play an above average 2 way game. Petry is the best bet of the group to be a solid 2 way guy but he just doesn't have the consistency to be counted on and i'm not sure that he ever will.

Petry was +1, Smid was even last season in that role. Not in above their heads whatsoever. Just not as good as we'd like.

 

[Stoneman89]

Yet another example of an Oiler player with a very good skillset but lacking a toolbox.
He makes some nice plays which gives the impression that he's a good defensemen then he will have a brainfart or two which reminds you that he's merely a decent defenseman who is in over his head.

He could be a lot better if he ever put it together but i don't think he has the Hockey IQ to do so unless he is sheltered by his D partner which leads me to my next point which is that i think Smid brings him down a bit. This is a guy who I always thought was overrated by the Oiler fanbase because he has heart and is a good character guy which blinds fans to his deficiencies.
The fact remains that he's average to below average in every other aspect of his game outside of blocking shots, he isn't overly physical either despite his overinflated hits stat.

One of the biggest problems with the Oilers is that these two guys are out of their element as the premier shutdown pairing. They often have difficulty getting the puck out of their zone and struggle knowing what to do with it when they gain offensive zone entry. Similar to their forwards, the Oilers lack anybody on the blueline who can play an above average 2 way game. Petry is the best bet of the group to be a solid 2 way guy but he just doesn't have the consistency to be counted on and i'm not sure that he ever will.

Bang on Cuppy, nothing much to add. Been saying most of the same things for quite a while myself.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

so he was dominant a few games ago.

discuss.

 

[Panda Bear]

Petry doesn't have great concentration and tends to get down on himself when he makes mistakes. When he's dialed in, he's dialed in and you get the "oh man first pairing talent" sense from him.

He was best under Renney. The havoc present in our defensive schemes from Krueger's ill-fated system to Eakins' chaos is compounding his consistency issues.

 

[Groucho]

Wish Petry could find the consistency his game needs.

 

[misfit]

I just wish he'd step up on forwards more when they're trying to skate in with the puck along the boards and he has support. That's probably the only thing I miss about Fistric. He did it way too much, mind you, but he was the only Oiler defenseman over the last two years to skate forward when the other team was entering the zone (especially when they did it without numbers) and challenge them physically. Souray did it well, and both Jason Smith and Matt Greene were terrific in that regard.

 

[Panda Bear]

Wish Petry could find the consistency his game needs.

Consistency is the biggest thing that separates allstars from third liners.

 

[Aerchon]

Unreal.

Petry has been struggling since Smid left and some people here are giving him props?

I see the same garbage excuses that everyone made for Tom Gilbert. The Oilers are playing him too far up the line up... if only we had Chara for him to play behind ... then... then he would be awesome.

What a joke.

I am a Petry fan. But he has regressed this season. Given up on plays and been beat cleanly by 2nd, 3rd, and fourth liners. Playing 2 minutes less a game and having slightly easier competition isn't gonna magically turn Petry into a great defenseman.

He had great chemistry with Smid. I've always said Smid carried Petry a bit and I can not count the amount of people that called me crazy for that. I am sure I'll get a few here too. But you have to be deaf, dumb, blind, or just plain out to lunch not to have noticed how much Petry has struggled since Smid left.

He is playing like a #4 or #5 right now at best. His upside is #3 with a solid defensive partner.

I really thought he had #2 potential but you just can't say that this year. He has the second worse plus minus for our defenseman. He only has 9 points in 39 games. He makes numerous glaring mistakes on a game to game basis. 3.5 mill for Petry is really too much. Maybe if we sign him long term.

It's easy, and probably accurate, to blame Eakins for his regression but that still doesn't excuse his poor play this year.

EDIT: And just to stir the pot a bit more. Personally, I think it is very obvious who our best defenseman is. He has the best plus minus, he is our captain, and while he isn't perfect either I am blown away when I hear people complaining about his play. He has been great for us. Consistently solid. Only has 2 less points than golden boy Petry. Andrew Ferrence.

Oilers fans and management are obsessed with quick skating, puck moving, offensive defenseman. The shut down types are every bit, if not more valuable to the team.