Sean Monahan was traded to the Winnipeg Jets by the Montreal Canadiens on Friday.
Montreal received a first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a conditional third-round selection in the 2027 NHL Draft.
Monahan signed a one-year contract with the Canadiens on June 20, 2023, and can become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
The 29-year-old forward has 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists) in 49 games this season. He has played every game after being limited to 25 last season because of injury.
“I think when we set out to look ... we first and foremost wanted to feel like it was a fit with how we want to play, who we are from a character standpoint," Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said Friday. "He checks those boxes very, very well. He's a mature professional player that has learned his craft and become a top player over a course of time in the National Hockey League, and yet he's still 29 years old. He's someone that brings a lot of different skills to the table; face-offs for sure is one of them, can be moved around different spots on the power play, has played penalty kill as well.
"Again, it just goes to kind of the theme of where we're at this year in respect to our depth and dimension, and this just adds to it. It's a player that the coaches can use in a lot of different ways, and I really think, again, one thing that you can really tell about a player, like, a lot of players get injured over the course of their careers, they come back from it. It's a testament to his hard work and what he has done to prepare himself to continue to be an elite level pro.
"Fortunately for us, we were able to make a deal happen. You give up a good asset but you have to do that in this league to get a good player. Again, I'm just happy that we do have him in the lineup sooner than the [NHL Trade] Deadline (on March 8) because it is such a good fit and it's not going to feel like a new player just coming into the lineup down the stretch, so to speak."
Selected by the Calgary Flames in the first round (No. 6) of the 2013 NHL Draft, Monahan has 514 points (231 goals, 283 assists) in 730 regular-season games for the Canadiens and Flames, and 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 30 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"We don't have enough clarity in our future to offer him a reasonable contract," Montreal general manager Kent Hughes said Friday. "So, we decided that in our current position, we are better off to trade him and we believed we should give him the chance to play for a very good team where he will fit right into the lineup. I thanked him for everything he did for the team."
Hughes said the Canadiens weighed whether to ask for a prospect or draft picks in return for Monahan.
"We were open to one or the other," Hughes said. "If it was for a prospect then the prospect had to have the value of a first-round pick. … But in this case, it was more about a draft pick that was available and that worked for us."
Hughes said talks for Monahan ramped up following the trade of Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks from the Flames on Wednesday.
"I think the teams that were in the race for Lindholm turned towards Sean," Hughes said. "In terms of whether it had an effect on the return, we had done our homework. We had a pretty good idea where the market would go, so when we got the price, we were ready to do it."
Cheveldayoff agreed.
"Obviously, you know, I think that the urgency, or the timing of things was accelerated to a certain extent by the activity over the start of the break here," Cheveldayoff said, "and fortunately for us we had some conversations early yesterday morning and [it] culminated very late last night with pretty much an agreement, and [we] had to get the medical files looked at and the like, so that's what took some time this morning as well.”
The Jets (30-12-5) are third in the Central Division and have lost three in a row (0-2-1). Following the break for 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend, they play at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
The Canadiens (20-21-8) are seventh in the Atlantic Division, 10 points behind the Detroit Red Wings, who hold the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Montreal next plays at the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.
Hughes said the Canadiens could make other moves prior to the Trade Deadline.
One player who could attract interest from a contending team is defenseman David Savard, who can become an unrestricted free agent after next season.
“I have not had any discussions with David, not yet," Hughes said. "But the door is always open. Am I open to trading him? I’m open to trading anyone as long as it improves our team.”
NHL.com independent correspondents Darrin Bauming and Sean Farrell contributed to this report
