Good News: Montreal Canadien Signs Top Experienced Star From Rivals

No, I’m not referring to the fact that his height was a factor in his drooping at the draft. This is in reference to the trade that allowed the Montreal Canadiens to acquire the second-round selection that they used to choose him in the draft. In 2018, when the Canadiens were in the midst of a terrible season, it was quite clear that general manager Marc Bergevin would be selling off his team during the trade deadlock. He acquired assets by lending Tomas Plekanec and Kyle Baun to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2018 second-round draft pick, 23-year-old winger Kerby Rychel, a first-round pick in 2013 and a defenseman named Rinat Valiev, who was 22 years old.

The Montreal Canadiens celebrated Plekanec’s 1,000th NHL game, and he immediately jumped on the ice to celebrate. Jacob Olofsson, a center that the Canadiens never signed to a contract, was the draftee with the second-round selection. Since he was not signed before to the June 2022 deadline, the team thus gave up their rights to him. In the summer of the following year, Rychel became a free agent and the Montreal Canadiens traded him to the Calgary Flames for Hunter Shinkaruk, who was also a free agent. The Canadiens did not extend a qualifying offer to him, therefore he left free agency after playing with the Laval Rocket for a season.

Last but not least, the Edmonton Oilers acquired defenseman Brett Kulak in exchange for Valiev and Matt Taormina after Valiev appeared in seven games for the Montreal Canadiens. Still, the trade tree doesn’t end there; after Kulak played for three and a half seasons with Montreal, the Habs traded him to the Edmonton Oilers, who were his hometown team, in exchange for William Lagesson, a seventh-round pick in the 2024 draft (now Rasmus Bergqvist), and, most importantly, a second-round pick in the 2022 draft (now Lane Hutson), one of the most valuable prospects for the Canadiens.

Since he made an appearance in the final two games of the season, the expectation in Montreal is palpable as he prepares to play his first complete professional season. Fans of the Montreal Canadiens have high hopes for the young player, and it shows in the success of Hutson’s jersey sales at the team’s official store. Even though the Canadiens are smart and won’t hurry Hutson, it wouldn’t shock me if they retained him on the big club to spare themselves the prospect of being trampled by a lifetime AHL player in the minor league. Everyone involved, from fans to management, should be counting their blessings. When Bergevin considered the chain reaction that would ensue from trading Plekanec, he made up his mind. In any case, Plekanec did re-sign with Montreal the summer after, unknowingly giving his team one last gift, and he played in his 1,000th game for the organization.