Petrell didn't last very long with the Oilers - parts of two seasons - after spending 8 seasons in the Finnish Elite League with the Helsinki HIFK, and it's mostly because for all he brought to the ice (hard checks, relentless energy, a never-say-die attitude, and a nearly flawless defensive game made of shot-blocking, pass interceptions and perfect positioning), he never could translate his attributes into tangible statistics, as can be attested by his 7 goals and 18 points in 95 games.
He could bat the puck out of thin air to save a perfect one-timer pass on the penalty kill but for some reason couldn't do it to redirect pucks in the opposition's net.
Then again, the 2011-12 and 2012-13 Oilers were far from All-Star-caliber teams, but the fact that he couldn't force the team to play him more than 11 minutes per game on such weak line-ups speaks volumes.
That's not to say the 6'3'', 215-pound Finnish heavyweight had an awful career; he hit the 30-point mark twice in Finland, had 5 goals and 21 points in 50 games in Switzerland last year, and 5 goals and 10 points in the very strong (and very defensive-minded) Swedish League this season. There's nothing wrong with playing pro hockey just below the elite level, and now that the NHL has over-specialized and the Art Ross winner will finish with the lowest points total in 53 years (and lowest points-per-game average in 65), perhaps there's room for the type of services he can offer a team, should he even want to come back to North America.
Last year I participated in a large number of online group box breaks, and in one of them, I got cards of players I care little for, and another participant traded this card for one of those I had ''hit'' with, knowing I had put bids on Habs and Oilers cards hits as well as what I ended up getting:
