It has been four years since Jeff Petry last made an appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It was a memorable postseason, with Petry and the Montreal Canadiens making it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021 before ultimately falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning. At 37, Petry knows time is running out to make another postseason run and chase an elusive Stanley Cup. Which is why when the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers called and gauged his interest in joining, the veteran defenseman knew his decision was an easy one. “That was an important part of my decision — wanting to be in the playoffs, wanting to compete for a Stanley Cup again,” Petry, who singed on Tuesday for a league minimum $775,000, said Thursday. “That feeling of being really close in Montreal, and then losing in the final, that was a tough feeling. I always said before my career is over, I want to be able to be in that position again and be on a team that can compete for a Stanley Cup. Coming to Florida, I think that gives me a very good opportunity to do that.” Petry has played in 981 career games over 15 seasons including stops with the Edmonton Oilers, Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings. He has 385 career points (96 goals, 289 assists). He only played in 44 games last season for Detroit, missing more than two-and-a-half months with an abdominal injury. “Jeff is a skilled, puck-moving defenseman who can contribute quality veteran leadership to our lineup,” Panthers president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito said. “We are excited that he will join us to supplement our exciting core.” Here are the highlights of what Petry had to say during his Thursday interview session. What stands out about the Panthers? “It’s an exciting, exciting place to play. You see what they’ve accomplished over the last few years. When I got the call that there was an interest in me coming there, I saw [Sam] Bennett and [Aaron] Ekblad and [Brad] Marchand resigning. When they called, it was a no brainer. You hear about the group, what they do together on the ice, off the ice. You hear so many good things about it, and like I said, when they had interest, it was a no brainer for me. They want you to come in and be the player you are, be the person you are, and not try to do something that isn’t within your characteristics.” How much does it help knowing that Florida’s style of play includes forwards playing strong defense, too? “I think that’s huge, being a group of five all over the ice. When you’re all committed in the defensive zone, it just gives you the puck back quicker to go play in the offensive zone. There’s a number of guys who are great defensively, but also have the ability to put the puck in the net. It’s an exciting group to join.” Injury slowed you a bit last season. How are you feeling now? “Everything’s feeling good. It’s something that I tried to push through. You never want to miss time with an injury. I wanted to push through it, and ended up just taking the time off getting it feeling better. Came back at the end of the year, and then now, having the last couple months to to fully recover, fully go through the rehab process, get everything feeling good to make sure I’m ready for the start of September.” Florida has a track record over recent years of defensemen having bounce-back seasons, including Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Nate Schmidt. Did that play a factor in you wanting to come here? “You definitely consider all things, and the track record of players that you spoke about is apparent. I think it speaks to the group that they have, that you can bring a new player in and they fit in and do well. I think it speaks to not trying to be somebody you’re not, and just coming in and playing your game and be surrounded by great players with great structure. That’s something that I strongly considered, and in making my decision.” Any welcome to the Panthers messages from teammates? “Yeah I got a few calls, a couple text messages from the guys. I think the one that sticks out is, was Chucky [winger Matthew Tkachuk]. He texted me and said, ‘glad to have you on the team. I hated playing against you, and looking forward to playing with you and having fun this year.’ A lot of guys reached out. Which is was nice to see, nice to hear, and looking forward to getting down there and meeting everybody in person.”
