Canadiens snag Devante Smith-Pelly from Ducks for Jiri Sekac

Hey, look, trades that benefit both teams!

The Anaheim Ducks shipped right wing Devante Smith-Pelly to the Montreal Canadiens for forward Jiri Sekac on Tuesday. From the Ducks:

Sekac, 22 (6/10/92), has appeared in 50 career NHL games with Montreal, scoring 7-9=16 points with 18 penalty minutes (PIM) this season. He made his NHL debut on Oct. 8, 2014 @ Toronto. The 6-2, 195-pound winger recorded his first career multi-point game (1-1=2), Nov. 8 vs. Minnesota and his first career two-goal game Dec. 12 vs. Los Angeles.

A native of Kladno, Czech Republic, Sekac appeared in 47 games with HC Lev Praha of the KHL last season, collecting 11-17=28 points. He also added 1-7=8 points in 21 postseason games with HC Lev Praha. He has played internationally for his home country on several occasions, including the World Junior Championship in 2012 (six games, 0-3=3 points) and World Championship in 2014 (10 games, 2-0=2 points).

Smith-Pelly, 22 (6/14/92), has scored 14-26=40 points in 129 career NHL games with Anaheim. Drafted in the second round, 42nd overall, of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Smith-Pelly has 5-12=17 points in 54 games this season.

Smith-Pelly was averaging 14:39 TOI per game for the Ducks, but saw his offensive pace slip a bit from his rookie season and last season’s 19 games. He was moved to center for part of that campaign, which was ill-advised. He also didn’t see much time with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, after playing well with them last postseason.

At 6-foot and pushing 230 lbs., he’s the kind of big frame Michel Therrien likes on the lineup. But Habs fans probably hate seeing Sekac go. He had 16 points in 50 games, and was a sparkplug for them in 13:48 per game. Like Smith-Pelly, he has a ton of potential.

They’re both signed for another season before RFA status.

Therrien gets the kind of player he likes, and Bruce Boudreau gets the kind of player he likes. Hopefully this is one we look back on as mutually beneficial.

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