As the trade deadline approaches, the Habs made another deal for a defenceman, this time acquiring Jordie Benn of the Dallas Stars.
The Canadiens acquire defenseman Jordie Benn from the Dallas Stars, in return for Greg Pateryn and a 4th-round pick in 2017.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 27, 2017
Jordie, brother of Jamie, has spent his whole NHL career in Dallas and recently has been playing on the second pairing with Dan Hamhuis.
He has 2 goals and 13 assists in 58 games this year, and could be considered as a slight improvement over Greg Pateryn, as he has seen more ice time this year, having established himself as a regular NHLer, unlike Pateryn. That would explain the extra fourth-round pick heading Dallas’ way.
At 29 years old, he has a cap hit of $1.1 million, and is signed on until 2018/19. He shoots left, which should be a boon for the Canadiens, seeing as they’re rather weak on that side of the ice in terms of defensive depth.
Analysts seem to be rather high on Benn, as his versatility made him a useful player for the Stars. He was often used on the Star’s penalty kill, second on the team in PK TOI.
Yes. Jordie Benn super solid guy, good puck mover, can play 2nd-3rd pair minutes. https://t.co/VkClAUYsl4
— Carolyn Wilke (@Classlicity) February 27, 2017
Jordie Benn is a second-pair defender who hasn’t been given minutes. pic.twitter.com/z13BF8GkME
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) February 27, 2017
The writing had been on the wall for Pateryn, seeing as the Canadiens had attempted to trade him earlier this season.
Essentially this was a very fair deal for both sides, with the Habs acquiring the better player by a slight margin, and paying for said upgrade with a fourth-round pick.
All stats courtesy of Corsica.
