After trading Mike Reilly to the Ottawa Senators, the Montreal Canadiens gave up a draft pick to add Marco Scandella from the Buffalo Sabres.
The Montreal Canadiens moved a depth defence in one move and got one back in another. Minutes ago, Mike Reilly was sent to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Andrew Sturtz and a 2021 fifth-round pick. Not too long after that trade was announced, Marc Bergevin had another to make acquiring Marco Scandella from the Buffalo Sabres for a 2020 fourth-round pick.
The draft pick was initially from the San Jose Sharks but was traded at the draft for the Habs 108th selection. San Jose used that pick for Yegor Spiridonov while Montreal turned around and used theirs for Scandella, so it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out in a trade tree down the line.
Scandella, like Reilly, is another former Minnesota Wild name. He started his NHL career in the hockey state before being moved to Buffalo ahead of the 2017-18 season. Since then, he’s seen his role dimish has the Sabres added more names on the backend, including 2016 first-overall pick Rasmus Dahlin, Brandon Montour, and Henri Jokiharju.
The veteran went from averaging 23 minutes in 2017 to 16 minutes with a third-pair label. His age and ability have fallen, but perhaps playing for his hometown team could spark a resurgence.
Make no mistake, this is a depth acquisition, and indirectly, an exchange of depth with Reilly. The left side doesn’t seem to be changing with Ben Chiarot, Victor Mete and Brett Kulak. That said, Scandella is a player I can see Claude Julien falling in favour of fairly quickly, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kulak sit to give Scandella an opportunity to perform.
It’s hard to get excited over a deal like this. It’s a clear-cut ‘wait-and-see type of trade where Scandella shows his worth if the fans or analysts don’t notice him. He has the potential to put up points and has a number of 20-point seasons under his belt.
But what the Montreal Canadiens need is stability. Their push for boring hockey isn’t going as planned, and the opposition is still getting the best of them at times. Scandella won’t be the full answer; however, he could be a piece of the pie.