The Habs have added a little bit more speed to the bottom of their lineup, acquiring Jordan Weal from Arizona in exchange for Michael Chaput.
Weal, 26, has split the season between Philadelphia and Arizona but hasn’t made much of an impact with both teams. Overall, he has played in 47 games between the two teams, picking up four goals and seven assists. Notably, he has been well above average at the faceoff dot, winning 55.8% of his draws and he gives Montreal a right-handed option down the middle, something they’ve been lacking.
Two years ago, Weal put up 12 points in just 23 games with Philadelphia, showing some flashes of offensive upside but he hasn’t been able to maintain that pace since then.
As for Chaput, he has played more of a role with the Habs than originally intended. While he cleared waivers early in the season, he was recalled in November and wound up playing in 32 games with Montreal. He recently cleared waivers to return to Laval earlier this month and had made a notable impact.
Weal is in the final season of his contract that carries a $1.75 million cap hit (though $500,000 of that was paid as a signing bonus at the beginning of the year). As for Chaput, he’s in the first season of a two-year, two-way deal that pays $675,000 at the NHL level.
Weal’s Stats:
Chaput’s Stats:
This was Montreal’s only move of the trade deadline which means Charles Hudon is sticking around although the odds of him getting playing time is even less now. The Habs made one other roster move today, recalling Dale Weise from Laval as the 23-man roster restriction has been lifted.