Team Canada’s Charles Hudon dealt to Baie-Comeau in a classic QMJHL two-part trade

Charles Hudon will have a new port of call in the QMJHL when he returns from Team Canada, thanks to the onus on the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to win now and the Chicoutimi Saguenéens' imperative to have a robust outlook for next season, when they hope to host the 2015 MasterCard Memorial Cup.

A player away at the world U20 championship cannot formally be traded until he returns to his regular league. Late Friday afternoon, though, RDS' Stéphane Leroux reported that the Drakkar and the Sags have a deal in place that will end the Montreal Canadiens selection to a contender. Chicoutimi will get three first-round picks in a row starting in 2015, along with the nebulous future consideration.

From Leroux (@StephRDSJunior), en français:

The Drakkar do not have to touch their nucleus until after the season and Chicoutimi can probably include the players they count on getting when they pitch the Memorial Cup selection committee on why they should get the '15 tournament, because QMJHL.

It's rather striking that it went down this quickly, considering how it's gone of late with coveted Quebec league stars who were on the block while away wearing the Maple Leaf. The Saint John Sea Dogs ended up hanging on to Jonathan Huberdeau last season amid uncertainty over the end of the NHL lockout, then lost him to the Florida Panthers. In 2012, the deal that moved defenceman Brandon Gormley from Moncton to Memorial Cup host (and eventual champion) Shawinigan wasn't announced until January.

The destination is not so surprising. For one, Drakkar GM Steve Ahern was said to be facing the greatest pressure to put his team in position to contend after its run to the final last season. For two, Hudon will be teamed up with fellow Habs pick Jérémy Grégoire in Baie-Comeau; as you might recall, the two also played together in Chicoutimi before Grégoire was moved last season in a change-of-scenery trade that rejuvenated his prospects. Putting Hudon (41 points in 33 games) and Grégoire (38 in 32) certainly should be intriguing.

Meantime, the Saguenéens, currently 12th overall in the QMJHL, got the same price for Hudon that they paid to Cape Breton for the rights to 16-year-old Nicolas Roy, although it will only have the picks temporarily.

Chicoutimi is in a unique position where it needs to show modest results with a younger lineup in order to bolster its Memorial Cup bid. Moving Hudon brings the Sags down to just five 19-year-olds on their roster. The sole other bidder, the Quebec Remparts, are carrying nine, so word of this move leaking out early might turn up the heat on Remparts coach-GM Philippe Boucher to make a move for the future.

Quebec, obviously, has a bigger building than Chicoutimi. Very recent history has shown that isn't as big a consideration for the QMJHL as it is when the other two leagues are deciding who should host the Cup.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.