Friedman defends Petry, but sees trade "soon"

Elliotte Friedman was on Sportsnet 960 Tuesday afternoon.

On Jeff Petry sitting out tonight and it turning into a bit of a firestorm:

“Yeah, a healthy scratch. Eberle is hurt. Nugent-Hopkins is hurt. It’s a really rough time for Edmonton. I thought the Canucks really beat the heck out of Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins and Hall the other night as a team should and I thought the Oilers’ response was really lacking.

“And this Petry thing is really interesting to me. I think Jeff Petry is a decent defenceman and he’s going to walk at the end of this year. I worry for the Oilers... that this one is going to come back and bite them. He’s a right-hand shot. I think he’s a reasonably talented guy. For whatever the reason is, they just don’t like him. And this one will end soon. I have a feeling he’ll be traded. But I just believe – I can’t imagine there’s six defencemen on the Oilers roster that deserve to play ahead of Jeff Petry. I think he’s a pretty good player.”

Source: Sportsnet 960/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey