It was a busy, if unremarkable trade deadline for the Montreal Canadiens.
While the team did make 4 separate trades, getting rid of fan favorites Nate Thompson and Ilya Kovalchuk, along with depth forwards Matthew Peca and Nick Cousins, most were simply made with the goal of stockpiling picks for this year’s draft in Montreal.
In return for these 4 players, the Canadiens acquired a 3rd and 7th round pick in 2020, and a 5th and 4th round pick in 2021. With the trades that were they made, its safe to say that the Canadiens are shifting focus in terms of their playoff hopes this year, putting it on the future, as they should.