For the second day in a row, the Montreal Canadiens have shipped off a defenseman. First, they acquired LW Jonathan Drouin for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. Today, they have dealt Nathan Beaulieu to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a 3rd round draft pick (68th overall) in this year\’s draft.
Beaulieu did score career highs in goals (four) assists (24 assists) and of course points (28) in a career high games of 74. But, he never has reached the potential he had when he was drafted 17th overall in 2011. They get some value out of him in a 3rd rounder.
Beaulieu, 24, has scored exactly 60 points (seven goals and 53 assists) in 225 games over five seasons, all with the Canadiens. In 2016-17, Beaulieu blocked 100 shots in a season, blocking 102.
For the Sabres, they now have double the amount of defenseman they need (they have 12, but you need 6), but Dmitry Kulikov is a UFA, and some of them (Brady Austin, Taylor Fedun, Brendan Guhle) will start next year in the minors. Josh Gorges probably won\’t play often, so there\’s six defenseman in Beaulieu, Rasmus Ristolainen, Cody Franson, Justin Falk, Jake McCabe, and those other three can be called up. A third rounder might not become anything good, so they didn\’t give up a high risk.
CarterHud 