Under the radar

MONTREAL - Without any pomp or circumstance, Jeff Petry solidified his standing as a pillar on the Canadiens' blue line in 2016-17.

His jersey may not be the one most frequently plucked off the shelves at the team boutique, he may never find himself at the top of the team scoring list, and his Twitter account will probably never boast the same number of followers as Carey Price.
And yet...
With an average of more than 22 minutes of ice time per game, the 29-year-old blue-liner was the second-most used player on the Habs in 2016-17. Seven years into his NHL career, he is coming off his best season, one in which he set personal marks in pretty much all the major categories: goals (8), points (28), games played (80), plus-minus differential (plus-3), power play points (7) and shots (172), among others.

Quietly, Petry proved to be an essential component of coach Claude Julien's defense corps.
His 21 points at even strength - three more than Shea Weber - were good for second among Montreal defensemen. He was also second on the team in hits (171) and blocked shots (145).
All that while changing defense partners on the regular: Andrei Markov, Alexei Emelin, Nathan Beaulieu, Brandon Davidson, Jordie Benn; Petry patrolled the blue line with pretty much every left-shooting defenseman on the team during the most recent campaign.

Back with a vengeance
After a sports hernia cut his 2015-16 season short, Petry - who arrived in Montreal in March 2015 via trade - wanted to return in full force and, more than anything, avoid the doctor's office.
Mission accomplished; Petry missed just two games for minor injuries.
Fans were able to see why Marc Bergevin went out and traded for Petry and then offered the dependable blue-liner a six-year contract extension in the summer of 2015, before he was able to hit the unrestricted free agent market.
After only 54 games in 2016-17, Petry had already matched his career highs for goals and points. He was particularly effective in light of Andrei Markov going down to injury in mid-December.
The Habs' No. 26, who lost his regular defensive partner in Markov, still managed to collect nine points (5G, 4A) in 12 games in December, earning Molson Cup honors for that month alongside Phillip Danault.
Just before the holidays, the rearguard enjoyed a three-game stretch in which he scored at least one goal per game - a feat he had never accomplished before in his career - capped by a three-point night (1G, 2A) against the Anaheim Ducks on December 20.

"Coming back fully healthy definitely helped. Towards the end of last season 2015-16], I wasn't myself. I couldn't play the style of game I wanted to," Petry said in the winter. "Maybe having a long summer off helped things."
Petry would certainly like to replicate his recipe for success this summer, although
[the addition of the newest member to the Petry clan
means that things won't be exactly the same heading into the new campaign - in the best possible way.