While the trade for Brett Kulak seemed to come out of nowhere, it isn’t some last second throwaway deal between the Flames and Canadiens. For Montreal, there are plenty of benefits besides acquiring the best overall piece in the trade, and it’s worth looking into the impact this deal has at the NHL and AHL levels.
At its most basic, this trade saw Montreal send Rinat Valiev and Matt Taormina to the Calgary Flames for Brett Kulak. Valiev came over last year in the Tomas Plekanec trade, and Taormina was Marc Bergevin’s crown jewel of an AHL signing in the previous summer.