Edmonton Oilers' Jeff Petry fights for the puckMATT SULLIVAN/Reuters
To this point in trade season, the price for a defenceman has typically involved a first-round draft pick and a prospect.
But Montreal Canadiens general-manager Marc Bergevin doesn't pay retail.
The Habs have acquired right-shooting defenceman Jeff Petry from the Edmonton Oilers for a pair of draft choices – a second-rounder in 2015 and a conditional fifth-rounder that could rise as high as a third – addressing an organizational need in a conference where their rivals (Tampa Bay, New York Rangers) have already made significant additions.
Bergevin and Edmonton counterpart Craig MacTavish were locked in conversation before a Habs/Oilers game in Montreal a couple of weeks ago, a discussion that Bergevin passed off as a just-catching-up chat between former NHL teammates (the two played together in St. Louis).
In hindsight, perhaps there was a little more to it.
Petry's arrival likely means a move back to the left side for Sergei Gonchar, and provides the Habs with enviable blue line depth as the playoffs loom.
Before suffering a concussion last month Gonchar was playing on the right side of a pair with youngster Nathan Beaulieu, a spot lately taken up by another former Oiler, Tom Gilbert.
It's a safe assumption Petry - a smooth-skating puck-mover - will now be given the spot alongside Beaulieu, and Gilbert will play with Gonchar.
What this means for the injured Alexei Emelin isn't clear, it seems evident that the Habs will send Greg Pateryn down to the AHL, veteran Mike Weaver will continue to be Montreal's seventh defenceman.
Montreal also picked up forward Brian Flynn from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2016.
The 26-year-old is a restricted free agent in July (Petry can become an unrestricted free agent) and has scored five goals and 17 points in 54 games – he provides another right-handed shot to a team that has few of them.
It's a value buy for Bergevin, the six-foot-one Flynn offers depth for the third and fourth lines.
Montreal and Buffalo hooked up for the second time with the Habs acquiring Torrey Mitchell in exchange for a draft pick and a prospect.
Mitchell, from the Montreal suburb of Greenfield Park, has six goals and seven assists in 51 games with the Sabres this season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report