The Montreal Canadiens lived an absolute nightmare this season, and it's when things are at their worst that National Hockey League general managers are most desperate to make a trade, and it appears the Canadiens may have made a very bad one.
The Canadiens were very frustrated with the play of forward Devante Smith-Pelly and they had a point, he just wasn't producing offensively. However it may have been worth noting that the entire roster appeared to have lost their offensive touch for an extended period, because now that Smith-Pelly has been traded he's once again showing off what he can do.
Since being dealt to the New Jersey Devils Smith-Pelly has appeared in 7 games, in that stretch he now has a whopping 6 goals and 3 assists, well over a point per game of production. By comparison Smith-Pelly had 6 goals during his 46 games with the Canadiens, and only managed 6 additional assists for a total of 12 points. It's a drastic turn around, one that will be a very tough pill to swallow for Canadiens fans who have already been put through the ringer this season.
In return for Smith-Pelly the Canadiens received for Stefan Matteau, and by comparison it looks like the Canadiens got robbed in this deal, at least for the time being. Matteau has played 6 games for Montreal thus far, he has no goals as a Hab and only one assist to go along with a -3 rating over that stretch.
This may very well be the most one-sided trade of the season.
[pub]