Montreal Canadiens make a deal with Ottawa Senators to add Andrew Sturtz

The Montreal Canadiens make a minor deal with the Ottawa Senators ahead of their game, sending Mike Rielly over for Andrew Sturtz and a fifth-round pick.

Some may have foreseen some change coming for the Montreal Canadiens with the number of injuries they have on their roster and change is here with this trade. It may not be the significant move fans hoped would happen, but it’s a change nonetheless as well as a good display of asset management for Marc Bergevin and the Habs organization. The deal has the Habs acquiring Andrew Sturtz and a fifth-round pick in 2021 for Mike Reilly.

Sturtz is an undrafted former NCAA player who put up good numbers with Penn State University. After graduating, he joined the Senators organization playing games for the Belleville Senators, scoring his first professional goal and adding two assists in six games. Unfortunately, the injury bug followed him all of last season, seeing him play only a total of 15 games.

He’s spent this year so far splitting time between the AHL and ECHL playing for a familiar territory in the Brampton Beast, but he hasn’t been as impressive as when he first broke in.

Sturtz is a small-statured forward with skill and versatility in his ability to play either centre or along the wall. His character is what intrigued the Ottawa Senators about him initially, but it’s seemed as if he’s lost his ability to score. Perhaps he gets the opportunity to trigger that electricity with the Laval Rocket.

The big thing of this deal is Reilly going the other way. The Montreal Canadiens, in a confusing move, extended the defenceman to a two-year extension without a clear path of him playing in the lineup. Reilly has only played 14 games so far this season, with four assists in a depth role.

His offensive edge with the puck was never in denial as it was his decision-making on the other end of the ice that made him a liability at times.

It’s a plus for the Montreal Canadiens who were able to add a project and a pick for a player who likely would’ve ended up on waivers. And before we scoff at it just being a fifth-round pick, the Habs have done very well for themselves on the draft floor. Cole Fonstad, Samuel Houde, Rhett Pitlick, Jacob Leguerrier, and Frederik Dichow are all fifth-round picks.

We’ll see how this plays out, but it’ll be interesting to see whether Bergevin continues to move players that haven’t been used.