The Detroit Tigers help Jeff Petry get a chance to live a childhood dream

Defenseman Jeff Petry was traded to the Detroit Red Wings from the Montreal Canadiens earlier this week. And as the son of former Detroit Tigers pitcher Dan Petry, life has come full circle and he has the Tigers to thank for the chance to be able to play in the NHL for his hometown team.

Petry is the 2nd Michigan native acquired by the Detroit Red Wings this summer

The Red Wings traded blue liner Gustav Lindstrom along with a conditional draft choice to the Canadiens for Petry yesterday afternoon. He becomes the second native Michigander to be acquired by Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman after the trade for Farmington Hills native Alex DeBrincat last month.

Petry, who hails from Ann Arbor, has played 864 career games in the National Hockey League with the Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, and Pittsburgh Penguins. He's scored 92 goals with 261 assists. He attended St. Mary's Preparatory School in Orchard Lake and also played for Detroit Little Caesars before attending Michigan State University.

Dan's trade to the Detroit Tigers help Jeff Petry live a dream

During an interview with 97.1 The Ticket earlier today, Petry said that it was when his father was drafted by the Tigers out of high school in 1976 that made his career in hockey possible after they decided to return to the Mitten State after his playing career ended following a stint with Anaheim.

“Both my parents being from California, it was, ‘What can we put our two boys in that is going to keep them busy year-round?'” Jeff Petry recalled. “So it was baseball all summer and my dad knew nothing about hockey, but knew that it was big in Michigan. And that was his reason for putting us into hockey.”

“He could’ve been drafted by the Angels and played the majority of his career in California,” said Jeff. “What he did with his career and the Tigers and then liking Detroit so much that he retired here has given me the opportunity to grow up playing hockey.”

It's obvious that Petry is thrilled by the trade to Detroit, saying that he's always dreamt of being able to play for the Red Wings.

“I want to play here and I’ve wanted to my whole life,” he said. “To get that call that you’re coming home to play for the team that you watched growing up, to be able to put on this jersey, it means a lot. It’s a very special moment.”

TL;DR (too long didn't read)

Bottom Line: Jeff Petry brings veteran leadership to Detroit

The 35-year-old Petry has been through plenty of ups and downs in his NHL career, and Detroit's younger players will only be benefitting from having him around.

We're looking forward to seeing Tigers legend Dan Petry watch his son Jeff suit up for the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena this season!

The post Detroit Tigers help Jeff Petry fulfill dream to play for Red Wings appeared first on Detroit Sports Nation.