The Montreal Canadiens made a trade early Saturday morning, sending defenceman Simon Bourque to the Winnipeg Jets for goaltender Steve Mason, forward Joel Armia, a seventh round draft pick in 2019 and a fourth round pick in 2020.
The Canadiens acquire forward Joel Armia, goaltender Steve Mason, a seventh-round draft pick in 2019 and a fourth-round pick in 2020 from the Winnipeg Jets, in exchange for defenseman Simon Bourque.
DETAILS -> https://t.co/M9SeD9NXPE.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) June 30, 2018
The defenceman Bourque was frequently on the outside looking in last season for the Laval Rocket, so the trade is not a big surprise. The return he got, for the instant, is quite impressive.
Armia, a right-winger, is potentially the big piece here for the Canadiens as he has three seasons of NHL experience with the Winnipeg Jets, scoring 12 goals and adding 17 assists. At 6’3”, he will be an imposing figure on depth for the Canadiens, or a top line scorer for the Laval Rocket. He is currently a restricted free agent, coming off of his entry-level contract.
Steve Mason, the veteran goaltender, still has a $4.1 million dollar cap hit for this season, and obviously the cost of getting rid of him for the Jets was to give up some picks as they try to make room for Paul Stastny.
Word is the #habs are already shopping Steve Mason. They could hold some money back and flip him.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 30, 2018
The Canadiens now have nine draft picks in 2019 and eight in 2020, as they continue to build their prospect pipeline.
