HabsWorld.net --
The Habs made a deal on Monday to change up their depth on the blueline, trading Greg Pateryn and a 2017 4th round pick to Dallas in exchange for defenceman Jordie Benn.
Benn, the older brother of Dallas captain Jamie Benn, is in his sixth NHL season, spent entirely with the Stars up to this point. The 29 year old is a left shot but has spent time on the right side this year and projects to play a third pairing role with the Canadiens. In 58 games this season, he has two goals and 13 assists while averaging 18:37 of ice time per game. He also has 113 blocks, which led the Stars and would slot in second on the Habs, only behind Shea Weber.
In his career, the 6’2, 200 lb blueliner has 11 goals and 60 assists along with 119 penalty minutes in 302 career regular season games while averaging just shy of 18 minutes of ice time per game.
As for Pateryn, he has spent his entire professional career with the Habs but never really locked down a third pairing spot. (In his defence, there’s a case to be made that he never got a chance to play into that role as he was in and out of the lineup regularly.) He has played in 24 games with the Habs this year, picking up a goal and five assists while logging 14:23 per game. In 82 career games with Montreal, Pateryn has two goals and 11 assists with an ATOI of 14:57.
Benn has two years remaining on his deal past this one with a respectable cap hit of $1.1 million. He’s eligible for protection in the expansion draft, something that wasn’t likely to happen with Dallas (nor will it be too likely in Montreal). Stars GM Jim Nill acknowledged the potential of losing Benn in the June draft as part of the reason for the trade. Meanwhile, Pateryn has one year left on his deal past this one with a cap hit of $800,000. He too must be protected or be left exposed in expansion. No salary was retained in the deal.
Benn’s Stats:
Pateryn’s Stats:
