Montreal Canadiens Drive for 25: The Hardy Devante Smith-Pelly

Apr 17, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens right wing Devante Smith-Pelly (21) congratulates center

(27) as he scored the winning goal during an overtime period against Ottawa Senators in game two of the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

ANAHEIM to MONTREAL

It seems that he turned the corner in his NHL career in 2013-14, when he did well during the regular season but really made his mark with 5 goals (1 game winning) in only 12 playoff games. He averaged close to 15 minutes per game over that span and was rewarded the following season with similar playing time. While he didn’t become the scoring machine the Ducks thought they’d found in the previous playoffs, he certainly wasn’t a disaster either. He managed 17 points in 54 games, finished his time in Anaheim this season +1, and was acquired by Marc Bergevin and the Montreal Canadiens in return for Jiri Sekac. When you consider that each had almost exactly the same PPG (Sekac had 50 GP and 16 pts), it’s a very interesting deal to review. In essence, Montreal was getting toughness it wanted to add – particularly for the playoffs – and Anaheim was getting finesse and skill. When speaking of the deal, Bergevin said of Smith-Pelly:

"“He’s a big body, right shot that goes to the hard areas, goes to the net. We’re giving up a really good young hockey player also. There’s a price to pay to get what you want, and Jiri was the case.”"

When he heard of the news he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens, Smith-Pelly responded on Twitter:

And he added the following for his past teams:

No hard feeling for anyone here. With this tweet, he shows maturity, character, and an appreciation for the opportunity they provided him while he was there, as well as the opportunity he was receiving by being dealt to Montreal. A great sign from such a young player (22 years old). Not only was Montreal getting a perfect addition to the roster for a long playoff run, but they also saved themselves money since Sekac carried a $1.35 million cap hit while Smith-Pelly only carries an $800,000 cap hit.

While Sekac has been a healthy scratch through the playoffs so far, Smith-Pelly has received time on the top 2 lines. You have to admit the Habs seem to have won this trade outright, if your goal is to win in the playoffs of course.

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