Jeff Petry: "Detroit was the Number One Spot on my List"

On Wednesday, Jeff Petry was introduced as the latest member of the Detroit Red Wings. Here's what he had to say:

Jeff Petry didn't waste any time getting to the point.  In response to the first question of his introductory press conference from the depths of Little Caesars Arena Wednesday afternoon, Petry—the newest Detroit Red Wing—laid plain his excitement: "To get the call yesterday and to hear that news that you're coming home, coming to play for the team that you watched growing up and watched a lot of games here, to be able to put on this jersey means a lot.  It's a very special moment."

His voice is at a quiet, conversational volume, but that doesn't conceal his pleasure at his change of circumstances, traded for the second time this summer, this time back home to Detroit.

He received word first from Montreal Canadiens' GM Kent Hughes, news that Petry described as sending a "big relief" and "a lot of excitement" through his mind.

Petry's father, Dan, was busy at the time Jeff got the news—working in his capacity as a studio analyst for Bally Sports Detroit's Tigers broadcast, so it was just a quick conversation.  The elder Petry pitched for the Tigers for 11 seasons, highlighted by the 1984 World Series triumph.  Come the new season, Jeff will don the number 46 jersey in red and white that his father once wore in blue and orange.

Dan Petry came from California, but, per Jeff's telling, he knew that kids in Michigan played hockey, so he figured it'd be a worthwhile pastime for his sons, even if the game was foreign to him.

Jeff played AAA hockey with Little Caesars in his youth, so he called Joe Louis Arena home then, and he grew up obsessed with hockey and the Red Wings.  He jokes that it took some courage to finally confess to his father that hockey, not baseball, was his passion.

Jeff appreciated that his father could be a resource when it came to the habits associated with being a professional athlete, without having any avenue for hockey-specific critiques.

"He was always at practice, always at games watching, but he didn't know much about it," the younger Petry says of his father's relationship to his youth hockey career.  "Along the way, it's been nice to talk to him about what it means to be a professional, what it takes to get to that level...I remember walking out of hockey games, and he was like 'How'd you play?'...He just didn't know anything."

Petry points out that if his father hadn't enjoyed Detroit so much during his playing days, the elder Petry wouldn't have settled in the area in retirement and Jeff may never have laced up skates at all.  

On the ice, Petry looks forward to playing alongside Moritz Seider, a player who captured Petry's attention before Seider took an NHL shift.  "I remember the year he was drafted and coming down here and skating with him, and he was 18 at the time—just seeing the body that he had, his frame and what he already had at that age," Petry says.  "And then to see him step in and play as well as he did and to continue to grow, I think he's a very, very good player now, and I think he's only going to continue to get better.  I'm excited to play with a guy like that that."

Petry played with Ben Chiarot in Montreal for an added bit of familiarity, and he likes what he sees across the Red Wings blue line: "There's a good balance on that back end.  Everyone has different skillsets that come into play...It's exciting to see."

Since the trade that returned him to Montreal a few weeks ago, Petry knew another move was more than possible.  He expressed appreciation for Hughes, who asked for a list of preferred destinations even if he couldn't make a guarantee.  Per Petry, "Detroit was the number one spot on my list."

"You grow up seeing the success he had and what he brought to this city," Petry said of his new boss, Steve Yzerman.  "The conversation that we had was easy—asking about family, living situations, and all that.  He's a guy that definitely cares about more things than just things on the ice."

He admits his summer of uncertainty was "stressful" throughout a "long three weeks trying to figure out if we're not in Pittsburgh, where are we gonna be...All situations went through our minds...It was a big relief getting the call yesterday, knowing that I was going to be here."

Asked what he's learned with the experience of 864 NHL games under his belt, Petry said "There's gonna be many ups, many downs.  You try to ride those ups as long as possible, and try to shorten those downs to as short of a period as possible.  I've been through many of those."