from Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette,
The way Petry told the story in a conference call Tuesday, he was hooked shortly after he joined the Canadiens from the Edmonton Oilers in a deadline deal.
“From the day I got there, to the playoffs, the environment at the Bell Centre, the players in the locker room and the organization just being first-class. It was a real eye-opener. It all played a big part in my ultimately signing the deal,” Petry said from his home in the Detroit suburb of West Bloomfield.
Petry was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and he said that it was his intention to test the market when he signed a one-year deal with the Oilers last summer.
“There was consideration before to test the free-agent market, but I knew that Montreal was at the top of the list,” said Petry. “When they approached me and asked if I wanted to stay, it was something that I strongly considered and I’m glad things worked out the way they did. It’s nice to join the team the next six years.”
Petry said Bergevin told him that he wanted him back during the team’s exit interviews last month and that the ongoing negotiations heated up during the past week.
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