Montreal Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier continued retooling his injury-depleted team today, trading prospect Ben Maxwell and a fourth-round pick in the 2011 draft to the Atlanta Thrashers for Brent Sopel and Nigel Dawes.
With Jaroslav Spacek on the sidelines with an undisclosed injury and rumours circulating that he could be done for the season, Sopel represents insurance on the back end.
Dawes, who is playing on his fifth NHL team in four years, will report to the Hamilton Bulldogs.
Cap Implications
Habsworld.net's Brian La Rose explained that:
"Sopel's acquisition eats up a little more than half of the Habs' remaining full season acquisition space, dropping it to a little below $1.85 million. However, with the uncertainly surrounding Spacek, that number could grow still. Sopel makes $2 million this season with a $2.33 million cap hit, while Dawes makes $650,000 at the NHL level, and $105,000 in the minors. Due to that AHL salary, he doesn't require re-entry waivers."
Analysis
This is an excellent, if slightly expensive, insurance move by Pierre Gauthier who bolsters his back end with a playoff-hardened veteran in Brent Sopel. ...
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Article written by Kamal Panesar
Montreal Canadiens Trade Analysis: Brent Sopel for Ben Maxwell
February 24th, 2011 by Kamal Panesar Leave a reply »
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