Tomas Plekanec and Kyle Baun were traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs by the Montreal Canadiens for forward Kerby Rychel, defenseman Rinat Valiev and a second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft on Sunday.
Plekanec, a 35-year-old forward, has 24 points (six goals, 18 assists) in 60 games this season. He has 605 points (232 goals, 373 assists) in 981 regular-season games during 14 NHL seasons, all with the Canadiens.
"You know I'm going to say everything, and because I'm saying everything is because he's the ultimate pro," Canadiens coach Claude Julien said prior to a 4-3 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. "He comes to the rink and he's there early, he prepares, he practices hard and he's focused.
"You know, he's a quiet guy who's got a good personality, he gets along with everybody, is well respected. When it comes to the game, I think when you look at, especially this year and even in the past when I was coaching against this team here, he was always one of those guys, especially before the new rules came out, that was good on face-offs. And he really takes pride in the game without the puck and he's one of those guys that we've pushed a little bit to bring some offense, because he definitely cares more about getting scored on than scoring, but he's capable of doing both. So I think when you look back at his stats and you look back at his durability and everything else, he's been a real good asset to this hockey club."
Selected by Montreal in the third round (No. 71) in the 2001 NHL Draft, Plekanec has 49 points (16 goals, 33 assists) in 87 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He was held out of the lineup Saturday by the Canadiens (23-29-9, 55 points), who trail the Columbus Blue Jackets by 12 points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"It was definitely different to go out there and not see him in the lineup, it's something no one's used to," Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty said. "We should all feel responsible for being in this position, and we do."
The Maple Leafs (39-20-5, 83 points) are second in the Atlantic Division, four points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning. Their last trade with the Canadiens was when they sent defenseman Greg Pateryn and a second-round pick in 2010 to Montreal for forward Mikhail Grabovski on July 3, 2008.
Baun, a 25-year-old forward, has 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) for Laval of the American Hockey League.
Rychel, 23, was chosen by the Blue Jackets with the No. 19 pick in the 2013 draft. He has 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists) for Toronto of the AHL. He was traded to the Maple Leafs by Columbus for defenseman Scott Harrington and a fifth-round pick in 2017 on June 25, 2016.
Valiev, 22, was a third-round pick (No. 68) of the Maple Leafs in 2014.
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