Kent Hughes was much less busy than expected this deadline. Instead of dealing expiring UFAs or veterans with term, it seemed as though the Canadiens' were stuffed by the rest of the league.
The Moves
MTL acquires: Dennis Gurianov, F
DAL acquires: Ebgenii Dadanov, F (50% retained)
To me, this deal is fantastic for the Canadiens. They got the younger, bigger, faster, and more skilled player in the deal. Gurianov 25, is only two years removed from a season that saw him score at a 45-point-pace. He proved his worth the season prior to that in the playoffs where he scored multiple important goals, including the goal that sent the Stars to the cup final. Gurianovs production has dipped significantly this season though, amassing only nine points in 43 games. Gurianov is an RFA at the end of this season and reports that his negotiations would go to arbitration were prevalent in the last couple of months.
Dadanov has not had a good season in Montreal. His production picked up in the last month but other than that his season has been abysmal. Reports that he was unhappy, he was out of the lineup for a period of time, and a serious goal drought are just a few examples of what his season has been plagued with. Evgenii Dadanovs' contract is over at the end of the season, he currently makes 7 million dollars.
Gurianov is the better player in this deal, after a bad season and threats of arbitration this offseason his value was significantly lower than it should have been.
Kent Hughes has successfully traded Shea Webers' contract for a 25-year-old power forward.
Verdict: Low risk, high reward.
MTL acquires: Frederic Allard, D
LAK acquires: Nate Schnarr, F
This trade is significantly less exciting. The Canadiens essentially swapped fringe NHL-ers. Allard has played just a single NHL game in his career. Nate Schnarr, 24 has never played an NHL game. Both forwards carry a salary of $750,000.
Verdict: Unimportant defensive depth.
MTL acquires: Tony Sund, D, 2024 5th round pick (SJS)
PIT acquires: Nick Bonino, F (50% retained by SJS, 25% retained by MTL)
SJS acquires: Arvid Henriksson, D, 2024 5th round pick (PIT), 2024 7th round pick (PIT).
Montreals' role in this trade is simply the facilitator. The Canadiens retained salary to make this trade cap compliant. Not an exciting deal for Montreal.
Verdict: Not the team the trade involved
Overall Grade: B-
Kent Hughes found himself the odd man out this deadline. With a team full of backup options for contending teams; the Canadiens were left high and dry during one of the busiest trade deadlines of the last decade.
Realistically though, this was not a make-or-break deadline for the Canadiens. Most of their most valuable players can be moved in the offseason or next deadline. Still though, most fans were expecting one significant move and even though getting a quality player for Evgenii Dadanov is impressive it didn't carry the oomph of a name like Hoffman, Anderson, or Edmundson.
Kent Hughes didn't fail this deadline, he came out on top in the few deals he made. The team is in a better position post-deadline than pre so it must be considered a success.
Still though... a little boring no?
Go Habs Go
The Beerleague Benchwarmer,
Will Shoukri
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