The Winnipeg Jets are acquiring forward Sean Monahan in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens.
Montreal will receive a first-round pick and a conditional pick, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.
It’s a big move for a Jets team competing for top spot in the Western Conference. It comes less than 48 hours after the Vancouver Canucks made a statement by adding Elias Lindholm in a trade with the Calgary Flames.
A resurgent Monahan has 13 goals and 22 assists for 35 points in 49 games for the Canadiens this season.
It’s his highest points total since he put up 48 with the Calgary Flames in 2019-20.
Monahan, 29, is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
The Canadiens acquired Monahan in a deal with the Calgary Flames in August 2022.
Monahan had fallen down Calgary’s lineup in 2021-22, often playing a fourth-line role and finishing with just eight goals and 23 points in 65 games — the worst season in his nine-year career. Monahan also missed the end of the regular season and the playoffs after needing hip surgery. Montreal took the entirety of his $6.375 million AAV, with one more season remaining on the deal.
Picked sixth overall by the Flames in 2013, the Ottawa 67’s product has 231 goals and 283 assists for 514 career points in 713 career games with Calgary and Montreal.
More to come.
