When it comes to the stretch of weeks ahead of free agency, no move seems to be mutually exclusive right off the bat. A trade or a buyout can be seen as preparation for something bigger, and the Montreal Canadiens had that going for them ahead of July 1st.
The team already had a decent amount of cap space but made a trade that opened up more sending Andrew Shaw to the Chicago Blackhawks. What was the most interesting aspect of the trade was the fact that the Montreal Canadiens didn’t take any salary back, instead of getting three draft picks between 2020 and 2021.