Canadiens acquire Sergei Gonchar from Stars for Travis Moen
The Montreal Canadiens made a splash Tuesday, announcing they have acquired veteran defenseman Sergei Gonchar from the Dallas Stars for lesser-used forward Travis Moen.
Canadiens acquire Sergei Gonchar in return for Travis Moen.
DETAILS -> http://t.co/oBZQaDUkVO #gohabsgo pic.twitter.com/8LuAOScC4v
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 11, 2014
The 40-year-old Gonchar, a power-play specialist in his 21 NHL seasons, is likely being called upon to help remedy a unit that has produced just three goals in 39 opportunities this season. That said, Gonchar's power-play time has seen a steady decline over the past three seasons in Dallas.
Gonchar is in the second season of a two-year, $10-million deal. With Moen's $1.85 million salary coming off the books, Montreal will slide just beneath the hard cap with $5 million of Gonchar's added money.
Stars general manager Jim Nill spoke both candidly and complementary shortly after the trade, explaining that the move was to service both Gonchar, and a team built to win this season.
@DallasStars GM, Jim Nill says "Montreal is built to win the Stanley Cup. We didn't want to hold Gonchar back." @TVASports
— Louis Jean (@LouisJean_TVA) November 11, 2014
Meanwhile, Moen featured in just 10 games for Montreal this season, earning multiple healthy scratches. The move frees up nearly $3 million in cap space for Dallas, but they will have the fringe forward on the books for both this season and next.
Moen also made a statement shortly after the trade was announced.
Travis Moen: "I'm not surprise. I was not part of top 12. It was time to move on." #tvasports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) November 11, 2014