The long-rumoured trade involving Tomas Plekanec has finally come to roost, as he heads to the Toronto Maple Leafs as the centrepiece of a major deal.
Coming to Montreal are young AHL players Rinat Valiev and Kerby Rychel, in addition to a second-round pick in this year’s NHL draft. As for Toronto, they’re getting Plekanec in addition to AHL forward Kyle Baun, who was acquired in the off-season for Andreas Martinsen.
The big thing is that Montreal will also be retaining 50% of Plekanec’s salary for this year, allowing the Leafs a little bit more flexibility if they plan to make other deadline moves, a scenario that Canadiens have had available since bringing north of $8 million in cap space into the 2017-18 season.