We are less than a week away from the NHL trade deadline, and general manager Marc Bergevin did not waste any time. Today, he traded defenseman and hometown boy Marco Scandella, who was traded from the Buffalo Sabres to Montreal less than a month ago for a 4th round pick, to the St. Louis Blues for a 2nd round pick in 2020 and a conditional 4th round pick in 2020(condition being if the Blues win 2 playoff rounds or if they resign Scandella, they get a 4th round pick in 2021. Canadiens also retain 50% of Scandella’s 4 million dollar contract in the trade. Overall, this is a win for both teams. For Montreal, this shows that their playoff hopes are done, and it’s time to offload any expiring assets they have and get value in return. They tried to resign him, but Scandella wanted to wait until the end of the season, so Bergevin decided to pull the trigger now. Now, the door is still open for Scandella to come back July 1st, and the feeling is mutual, so we’ll see how that transpires later in the offseason. For St. Louis, it adds to the depth they need after losing Jay Bowmeester, who looks like his career is all but over after collapsing on the bench midgame in Anaheim last week. With him out, the Blues needed some insurance on defense, and Marco Scandella fills that role promptly, and is in a good situation in St. Louis. Hopefully, the dominoes start to fall now with this trade, and we should expect some more trades from Marc Bergevin in the coming days leading up to the NHL trade deadline on February 24th.
JV Sports Blog 