Jack Todd: The Petry trade makes sense. It also marks the end of an era.

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The Canadiens had a hot streak under Jeff Petry. There were ups and downs. There were times when he was superb and others when he wasn’t. There was an unreal pain. There were old laser eyes, becoming the symbol of 2021 Fighting Habs, the team that refused to give up until the Tampa Bay Lightning proved to be too much.

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There was a horror show last season, with Petry’s unhappy wife clearly as much a factor as Dominique Ducharme and the pandemic when Petry’s game was derailed. Some will never forgive him; others will understand that Petry is as human as anyone: he simply makes more money.

Petry was one of the best of the old regime. Acquired from Edmonton for a conditional second round and fifth round in 2015, Petry became a fixture on the blue line, at times (usually when Shea Weber was out of the lineup) playing like a Norris Trophy contender.

In the wake of the trade that sent Petry and Ryan Poehling to Pittsburgh for points producer Mike Matheson and a draft pick, a website commenter on Twitter wrote: “Kent Hughes better have a few more tricks up his sleeve. ..”

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Sigh. In six months, Hughes has quietly rebuilt this team, always with the same goal: to create an organization that can compete consistently for years to come. Threatening to growl at him if he doesn’t perform any more “tricks” is petulant and unrealistic.

Look, maybe all of this will work, maybe it won’t. You always need a little luck: with trades, with draft picks, with injuries. But if you’re paying attention, you have to love the way Hughes deals with his business.

Faced with an unhappy Julie Petry and a difficult domestic situation for her husband, Hughes refused to be rushed. She took her time and made a good exchange.

As for Ryan Poehling, he reminds me a lot of Louis Leblanc. Both good players, neither with a standout skill that catches the attention of coaches: speed, good hands, laser shot, control.

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Aside from his unforgettable debut against the Leafs, Poehling just never really stood out. With Kirby Dach on the roster, he became expendable. That had no effect on the clamor to acquire Pierre-Luc Dubois at all costs, including Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield or Kaiden Guhle and his picks.

I don’t think any of those young men need worry about being sent to Winnipeg. If Hughes had been interested, he wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to assess Dach. my take? Dubois would cost too much in terms of assets and salary. Happen.

Fortunately, Hughes won’t listen to me any more than he listens to people pining for a trade. He’s doing it his way, and he’s doing it right.

Up on Mount Royal, meanwhile…

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Alouettes general manager and interim head coach Danny Maciocia isn’t doing too well. We hated the Khari Jones and Barron Miles firings early on, but after Thursday night’s debacle against the awful Edmonton Elks, it’s clearly worse than we expected.

Maciocia’s excuse for the firings was that the Als were giving tips and were undisciplined. So against Edmonton, Maciocia’s team blew a 19-point lead and charged 13 penalties for 193 yards in a 32-31 loss.

You’d almost swear the players were offering their opinion on the layoffs with all those penalties.

The simple truth is that the firings of Jones and Miles were not justified. Both men earned their positions, both were experienced and qualified. It was too early in the season to hit the panic button, especially playing in a division as weak as the CFL East, but owner Gary Stern is a rookie and Maciocia is a Canadian college coach whose previous CFL experience is so outdated that everything is but irrelevant.

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Maciocia looked like a deer in the light of the headlights training Edmonton all those years ago, he looked the same when his wheels fell off Thursday night. Maybe Anthony Calvillo and Noel Thorpe can find a way to turn this around, but it’s hard to be optimistic.

The summer of scandals

It has become an almost daily occurrence, the publication of more damning information about Hockey Canada or Soccer Canada.

Both governing bodies are mired in scandals that call into question their ability to govern themselves first and foremost. Remarkably, Scott Smith remains the CEO of his institution despite his involvement in paying off the alleged victim in the Hockey Canada Eight case, while Nick Bontis still runs Soccer Canada despite the inexplicable behind-the-scenes dealings that have taken place. infuriated both the men’s and women’s national teams. .

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It is almost miraculous that Canada has TSN’s Rick Westhead reporting both stories. While the so-called “insiders” take what the agents feed them, Westhead does real reporting, and what he’s reporting doesn’t reflect well on either institution.

Heroes: Rick Westhead, Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton, Hugo Houle, Christa Deguchi, Brittney Griner, Romell Quioto, Charlie Montoyo &&&& last but not least, Jeff Petry.

zeros: Hockey Canada, Soccer Canada, Scott Smith, Tom Renney, Nick Bontis, Danny Maciocia, Ross Atkins, Claude Brochu, David Samson &&&& last and least, Jeffrey Loria.

@jacktodd46

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