Beaulieu welcomed Montreal trading him to Buffalo cap for 2017-18
Understanding his days were numbered in Montreal, defenceman Nathan Beaulieu welcomed the trade that sent him to the Buffalo Sabres.
Aside from getting a fresh start with a Phil Housleycoached team placing a value on puck-moving defencemen, Beaulieu expressed relief he didn’t have to deal with the uncertainty of being exposed in the NHL’s expansion draft.
“It definitely took the stress level off me,” Beaulieu said Sunday. “Having that happen just before the (trade) freeze was a huge sigh of relief. And going to Buffalo was a bonus.”
The Sabres gave up a thirdround pick in exchange for the 2011 first-round selection who completed his third full season in Montreal.
The deal was struck just before NHL teams were required to submit their protected lists for the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft.
Though it’s unclear whether he would be selected by Vegas on Wednesday, the 24-year-old was certain the Canadiens would not have protected him. Buffalo, on the other hand, protected their new addition at the expense of exposing two more high-profile and higherpriced defencemen in Zach Bogosian and Josh Gorges.
The trade didn’t surprise Beaulieu, who sensed his future in Montreal was uncertain once his playing time began to diminish under coach Claude Julien. He was scratched twice in the final month of the regular season and also benched for Game 6 of a firstround playoff series in which the Canadiens were eliminated by the New York Rangers in April.
Despite his inconsistencies, Beaulieu had career-bests with four goals and 28 points in 74 games, while averaging 19-1/2 minutes of ice time.
In Buffalo, he will be given the opportunity to play a topfour role on a team retooling its defence under Housley, who was hired on Thursday. Housley spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach in Nashville, where the Hall-of-Famer was credited for overseeing the Predators’ speedy and playmaking defensive unit which included P.K. Subban and Roman Josi.
Though he’s not familiar with Housley, Beaulieu believes he’s better suited to play in Buffalo as opposed to Montreal, which favoured its defencemen playing a more rugged style.
He declined to say whether he bore any grudges toward the Canadiens.
“I’m not going to get into too much about Montreal,” said Beaulieu, who grew up in southern Ontario, about a 21/2-hour drive from Buffalo. “I’m focused on Buffalo.”
The NHL salary cap has been set at $75 million for this season in a slight increase over last year.
The league and NHL Players’ Association announced the cap and the salary floor of $55.4 million in a joint statement Sunday. The figures are set by the league’s hockey-related revenue.
It’s an increase of $2 million from the $73 million cap last season, as players elected to use their escalator clause to raise it.
Even a slight increase can help several teams that are up against the cap, like the Chicago Blackhawks and Presidents’ Trophy winning Washington Capitals. For budget teams, the floor increased just $1.4 million from $54 million. The expansion Vegas Golden Knights must spend at least to the salary floor in their first season.