Montreal Canadiens trade Ilya Kovalchuk to the Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals were a possible team interested in Ilya Kovalchuk, and now it’s official as the Montreal Canadiens add a third-round pick for him.

Not too long ago, Pierre Lebrun appeared on Insider Trading and said the Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames, and Washington Capitals were three teams interested in Ilya Kovalchuk. Whether the Montreal Canadiens chose to move Kovalchuk depended on whether Marc Bergevin would be able to get the assets in exchange for him or not. Lebrun made it seem as if the Capitals were a team he could see being in on the left-winger and not necessarily a fact, but now it looks as if Lebrun pulled a Bob McKenzie on Habs fans.

Kovalchuk is heading over to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a third-round pick in 2020. Bergevin wanted a second-round pick in exchange for the forward, but it looks as if he couldn’t get a team to bite on that price. Additionally, it doesn’t seem like the Habs could decide on any means of a conditional aspect to the deal.

The 36-year-old joined the Montreal Canadiens after a slow and frustrating start to the year with the Los Angeles Kings. After having his contract terminated, Kovalchuk signed a one-year league-minimum deal for the rest of the season. It was the final straw for the veteran to prove he could play in the NHL and prove he did.

Kovalchuk played with pace and energy that was absent from his play in LA. He added 6 goals and 7 assists for 13 points in his 22 games with the Montreal Canadiens. In total, Kovalchuk is heading to Washington with 9 goals and 13 assists in 39 games.

The Capitals get another scoring threat aside from Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, and Evgeny Kuznetsov to not only produce at 5v5 but on the powerplay. The Habs don’t necessarily add the pick they want, but it’s a good enough pick nonetheless.

That’s another selling target off the books for the Habs, which further establishes them as a team on the sell. Will something else come?