Montreal receives 20-year-old forward prospect Tyler Smilanic, a 1st-round pick in 2023, and a 4th-round pick in 2022 for the defenseman.
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It was a question of when — not if — the Canadiens would trade Ben Chiarot before Monday’s 3 pm NHL trade deadline.
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On Wednesday night, Montreal general manager Kent Hughes traded the veteran defenseman to the Florida Panthers for 20-year-old forward prospect Tyler Smilanic, a 1st-round pick in 2023, and a 4th-round pick in 2022. The Canadiens will be retaining half of Chiarot’s salary this season.
Chiarot, 30, is in the final season of a three-year, US$10.5-million contract with a $3.5 million salary-cap hit and can become an unrestricted free agent this summer. In 54 games with the Canadiens this season, the 6-foot-3, 234-pounder had 7-11-18 totals and was minus-18 while averaging a team-high 23:33 of ice time. In his last nine games, Chiarot had 2-7-9 totals and was plus-8.
The Canadiens made Chiarot a healthy scratch for Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to the Arizona Coyotes at the Bell Center, wanting to protect him from getting injured ahead of the trade deadline.
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“We’re kind of numb to it — especially on game day,” the Canadiens’ Brendan Gallagher said after Tuesday’s game when asked about Chiarot sitting out. “Tomorrow, an off-day, I think stuff like that starts to set in. Today, we got the news and you’re just so focused and dialed into the game, I didn’t really get a chance to say anything or think too much about it.
“But Benny’s a guy that three years here, I think the fans can appreciate what he did for this group. He was so hard to play against. He was a big part of our D-core that we relied on so much back there. He played some huge minutes and I think every year he got better. I appreciated being a teammate of his, assuming he is gone — not to make any assumptions because it hasn’t happened yet — but a good player that I hope the fans got to appreciate.
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Chiarot’s physical style of play is built for the playoffs and he played a key role in the Canadiens’ trip to the Stanley Cup final last season before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Chiarot averaged a team-high 25:15 of ice time during the playoff run, while posting 1-1-2 totals and a minus-2 in 22 games. He also ranked third in the NHL in playoff hits with 88.
Before making the trade, the Canadiens already had 12 picks in this year’s NHL Draft, slated for July 7-8 at the Bell Center, including two in the first round, one in the second and three in the third.
Chiarot’s deal was the second major trade Hughes has made since taking over as GM in January. On Feb. 14, he sent Tyler Toffoli to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Tyler Pitlick, Emil Heineman (a 20-year-old winger playing in the Swedish Hockey League), a conditional first-round pick at this year’s NHL Draft and a fifth-round pick in 2023.
