With Michael Matheson now with the Habs and Jeff Petry in Pittsburgh, coupled with the fact that Ryan Poehling was released by the team, it's safe to say that Kent Hughes won this transaction last summer. Petry is no longer part of the Penguins' plans, and the team is now turning its attention to Erik Karlsson. However, to complete a transaction and absorb the star defenseman's hefty contract, Jeff Petry must leave. The former CH defenseman has a no-trade clause in his contract and has the right to refuse to play for certain teams. The San Jose Sharks are one of them. <q>Whether it's because the Sharks are far out west, because of California's tax rate, because of the fact that it's a left-leaning state (his family is right-leaning) or whether it's because it's just a long way from Michigan, where the family stays, the reasons can be many. - Charles-Alexis Brisebois</q> Petry is blocking the Penguins' quest for Karlsson because he doesn't want to play in San Jose. Kyle Dubas will have to be creative to make it work, but Petry's refusal will cost him dearly. <blockquote class=twitter-tweet><p lang=en dir=ltr>This puts his DG in trouble → <a href=https://t.co/I2VZZfREZJ>https://t.co/I2VZZfREZJ</a>- DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) <a href=https://twitter.com/DLCoulisses/status/1682424321443086336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>July 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src=https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js charset=utf-8>