The All-Star Break is the new Trade Deadline, apparently.
Just a few days after the Calgary Flames dealt Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks, the Winnipeg Jets got in on the action by acquiring Sean Monahan from the Montreal Canadiens. The cost for Monahan was Winnipeg’s first-round draft pick in 2024 as well as a conditional pick in 2027.
Lindholm was the top name on Daily Faceoff’s latest Trade Targets board and Monahan was the second. It seems that the Canucks jumping out and adding a top-six centre in Lindholm put pressure on the Jets to go ahead and add some quality depth down the middle while it was still available.
The Flames traded Monahan to Montreal during the 2022 off-season as a salary cap dump. Monahan had scored only 18 goals and 51 points across 115 games during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons and Calgary moved the final year of his seven-year, $44.625 million contract to free up the room needed to sign Nazem Kadri as a free agent.
Monahan got off to a strong start in his first season in Montreal, as he scored six goals and 17 points in his first 25 games in 202-23. Unfortunately for Monahan, his rebound campaign came to an end in December, as he suffered a groin injury and didn’t suit up again for the rest of the season.
The Habs re-signed Monahan before he was eligible to hit the unrestricted free-agent market with a one-year contract extension worth $2 million. Through 49 games this season, Monahan has 13 goals and 35 points, which is the highest in both categories he’s had since scoring 22 goals and 48 points with the Flames in 2019-20.
For Winnipeg, Monahan gives the Jets a much-needed stopgap while top-line centre Mark Scheifele is on the Injured List with a lower-body issue. The Jets own a 30-12-5 record, good for third place in the Central Division, though they have a better points percentage than the two teams ahead of them, the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche.
Both Lindholm and Monahan had been viewed as possible targets for the Oilers, as both players are capable of playing in the top-six as either a centre or a right-winger. The remaining names towards the top of Daily Faceoff’s list are mostly goaltenders and defencemen, with the top pivots available being Adam Henrique of the Anaheim Ducks and Nic Dowd of the Washington Capitals.
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