NHL: John Scott likely out of all-star game after being traded to Montreal Canadiens, sent to AHL
BROSSARD, QUE.— Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin may still try to prod his struggling team with a major trade, but the deal accomplished on Friday wasn’t it.
The Canadiens sent little-used defenceman Jarred Tinordi and minor-league forward Stefan Fournier to the Arizona Coyotes for tough guy John Scott and defenceman Victor Bartley, who were immediately assigned to the St. John’s IceCaps of the AHL, although Bartley was then called up to the NHL.
The six-foot-eight Scott is the bestknown player in the deal, if only because he was playfully voted in by fans as captain of the Pacific Division team for this year’s NHL all-star game. The 33-year-old has five goals, six assists and 542 penalty minutes in 285 NHL games.
The NHL reformatted its all-star game this season, with one player from each division selected by fan voting to lead a team in the 3-on-3 game.
A fan campaign for Scott began at the start of voting and gained steam until he ended up becoming a captain with Florida’s Jaromir Jagr, Washington’s Alex Ovechkin and Chicago’s Patrick Kane.
It was unclear if being sent to the minors would affect his eligibility to play in the all-star game.
The move drew predictable jokes on social media about the Canadiens trading for an all-star.
A trade to boost the Habs’ attack had been expected with the team in a 5-14 funk since Dec. 1 after starting the season with a team-record ninegame winning streak.
The slump coincided with a lower body injury to star goalie Carey Price, but it is the offence that has sputtered while backup Mike Condon has done a decent job in goal. Price resumed skating, without pads, this week and may be back after the Jan. 31 all-star game.
Bergevin did not comment on Friday’s trade, which started with the Nashville Predators dealing Bartley to Arizona for defenceman Stefan Elliott.
The only immediate benefit for Montreal appears to be removing Tinordi’s $850,000 (U.S.) salary from the team’s cap.
Tinordi was a hot prospect when Montreal made a deal with Arizona to move up in the draft and select him 22nd overall in 2010. But despite his size and pedigree, the son of former NHL rearguard Mark Tinordi spent most of his time in the minors.
The 23-year-old, who played in only three games this season and has six assists in 46 career NHL contests, had fallen to ninth on the Canadiens’ depth chart on defence, but was kept in Montreal because he needed to clear waivers to be sent to St. John’s.
The Habs also expect to have winger Dale Weise back after missing four games with an upper body injury.