Sergei Gonchar sent to Montreal, Dallas snags Travis Moen

Two players heavily shopped since the start of the season have finally been sold.

The Dallas Stars sent veteran defenseman Sergei Gonchar’s Cap Hit to the Montreal Canadiens for Travis Moen’s Additional Contract Year.

In Gonchar, the Canadiens get a 40-year-old defenseman who’s been limited to three games this season and 13:01 of average ice time. He suffered a fractured bone in his ankle in the preseason, and just recently returned to the lineup.

He played for Michel Therrien with the Pittsburgh Penguins, so obviously he’s a known commodity. How much he has left is anyone’s guess: He had 22 points in 76 games last season. If anything, he’s a veteran, steadying presence for the Habs on the blue line. And another Russian, which they're apparently collecting like Pogs.

The Stars are keeping $400,000 salary in that trade. Gonchar’s cap hit will be $4.6 million, and it expires after this season.

Moen, 32, has one more year left on his deal at $1.85 million. Here’s Jim Nill on Moen, who has 10 games this season without a point:

"Travis Moen is a big, strong power forward. He is going to bring a presence on the ice for us. He’s a great character guy and he’s been around the league a long time. Sergei and I talked, things just weren’t fitting in for him here. He wanted an opportunity somewhere if it was available. In the end, we had some young defensemen we want to start getting ice time. It was time to start bringing the young defensemen in. It’s an opportunity for some of the younger defensemen to start growing into their positions. That’s why Klingberg is up here."

Darren Dreger reports that CAA has been trying to get Gonchar freed from Dallas “for several months.” Moen has been shopped by the Habs for the last two months at least.

The thought in Dallas is that there's another shoe to drop here, with the cap space cleared. So in that sense, it's a good move for the Stars.

Why make this trade for the Habs? Because of his expiring contract and the needing of all the space they can get next year? Because Gonchar is demonstrably better in the East than the West? Because Gonchar can help their bottom of the barrel power play? Because he did so several years ago with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin?

And if he doesn’t … again, why make this trade?

Although kudus to Marc Bergevin for getting any return on Moen.  

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