Petry trade to Red Wings brings hockey dream full circle with father Dan

DETROIT -- There are homecomings, there are father-son stories, and then there is Jeff Petry coming home to play for the Detroit Red Wings and wearing No. 46, like his dad, Dan Petry, once did for the Detroit Tigers.

After Jeff was traded to Detroit by the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, it was his idea to take No. 46 to honor his dad. The Red Wings broke the news on social media, showing Jeff, the defenseman, and Dan, the pitcher, side by side -- different sports, different uniforms, but same number, same game face, same red facial hair, same city.

Dan was working as a studio analyst during a Tigers game on Bally Sports Detroit, the same regional network that airs Red Wings games.

"My dad was on set," Jeff said at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday. "He sent me a nice note. He said he was very honored and never saw that coming."

You could see the pride in Dan's face and hear it in his voice when he talked about the trade on television.

"You get a chance to watch your son play for the team that he grew up idolizing, with, of course, that iconic jersey," Dan said. "It's going to be very, very special. Hopefully I can get to a lot of games."

It's poetic, a home run from a PR standpoint. It also gives the Red Wings a veteran, right-shot defenseman with skill. But it goes deeper than that. This is about a son who chased his own dream with his famous father's support.

Dan played for the Tigers from 1979-87 and 1990-91, winning the World Series in 1984. The right-hander is tied for 10th in starts (274) and 12th in wins (119) in their 122-year history.

Jeff was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Dec. 9, 1987, four days after the Tigers traded Dan to the California Angels. The family moved to California while Dan played there for two seasons, then returned the Detroit area in 1990. After Dan finished his career with the Tigers, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox in 1991, the Detroit area became the family's permanent home.

Dan, originally from California, knew nothing about hockey, but he wanted to keep Jeff and his brother, Matt, busy year-round, so he put them in baseball in the summer and hockey in the winter.

Well, Jeff fell in love with hockey. His bedroom was full of Red Wings stuff. He was always watching Red Wings games. He played for the Little Caesars youth program at Joe Louis Arena, home of the Red Wings at the time.

"It was always something I enjoyed more than baseball," Jeff said. "It took me a while to finally tell my dad that and get away from that, but hockey … just meant a little bit more to me."

It was in high school at St. Mary's Prep in Orchard Lake, Michigan -- where the baseball field is now named for Dan, and where Matt is now the director of admissions and varsity baseball coach -- when baseball and hockey became too much of a conflict for Jeff.

"I actually went to my high school coach at the time, and I said, 'It's come to a point where I have to make a decision, and how do I do this?'" Jeff said. "And he's like, 'Just go home and be honest with [your dad]. He's going to support you with whatever decision you make.'

"And [the coach] was right. I went home. He did give him a call and warn him that something was coming, but he was thrilled that I had chosen what I wanted to do and wanted to make my own path. He was supportive along the way and supportive in that decision."

After three seasons at St. Mary's, Jeff played for Des Moines of the United States Hockey League and was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the second round (No. 45) of the 2006 NHL Draft. After another season with Des Moines and three at Michigan State, he turned pro.

The 35-year-old has played 13 seasons in the NHL, producing 353 points (92 goals, 261 assists) in 864 games for the Oilers, Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins. He had 31 points (five goals, 26 points) in 61 games for Pittsburgh last season.

In baseball, Dan could pick apart Jeff's performance. In hockey, he couldn't, but he could help him in other ways as a former professional athlete. For Jeff, it was the best of both worlds.

"I remember walking out of hockey games," Jeff said. "He goes, 'How'd you play?' I'm like, 'Good.' He's like, 'All right.' He just didn't know anything. I liked that he could help with the mental side of things, the what-it-takes, but allow me to just kind of go out in the hockey world and do my own thing."

Over the years, Dan, a recognizable face in Detroit, has been seen at Red Wings games in the gear of Jeff's team. Jeff has come home in the offseason, intending to settle in the Detroit area after his NHL career, wondering what it would be like to play in a Red Wings jersey first.

After the Canadiens acquired Jeff on Aug. 6, helping facilitate the trade that sent defenseman Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks to the Penguins, Montreal general manager Kent Hughes asked Jeff where he would like to go. Detroit was No. 1 on Jeff's list.

"You keep thinking in your head, 'OK, when is that opportunity going to come? Can it come?'" Jeff said. "And for me, I always thought about wanting to play one year here maybe at the end of my career or whenever the opportunity came. To get that call yesterday was a very special moment for me."

Photo Credit: Chris Popp, Detroit Red Wings