Canadiens trade defenceman Marco Scandella to the Blues

Thanks for coming, Marco Scandella.

The Montreal Canadiens have traded the 29-year-old defenceman to the St Louis Blues, in exchange for a 2020 second-round draft pick plus a conditional 2021 fourth-rounder.

The Canadiens have acquired St. Louis’ second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft (and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2021), in exchange for defenseman Marco Scandella.#GoHabsGohttps://t.co/7ZqALTfebc

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 18, 2020

The Canadiens will reportedly retain 50% of Scandella’s $2 million salary (pro-rated) as part of the deal. Scandella is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

The condition on the fourth-round pick is outlined by TSN’s Pierre LeBrun below:

Conditional pick in Habs – Blues trade is if St Louis re-signs Scandella or if Blues win two rounds and he plays half the games

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 18, 2020

Scandella, who was acquired on January 2 from the Buffalo Sabres, played just 20 games with the Canadiens.

The move is a nice piece of asset management from Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin, who bought low and sold high on the Montreal native, as he only gave up a fourth-round pick to get Scandella in the first place.

This could be the first of a few moves the Habs make before Monday’s trade deadline, as Montreal is a distant nine points back of a playoff spot. All eyes will be on Ilya Kovalchuk, who should garner interest from a contender looking to boost their scoring.

It should be an eventful NHL Draft for the Canadiens, when they host the annual event this June.

The Montreal #Canadiens now have 12 picks in the upcoming 2020 Entry Draft

5 of those picks are in the first three rounds

1st RD – 1
2nd RD – 3
3rd RD – 1
4th RD – 3
5th RD – 2
6th RD – 1
7th RD – 1https://t.co/lffSdAZeWP pic.twitter.com/BOGWHmCR23

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) February 18, 2020