Bergevin traded Plekanec and got what looked like a modest return at the time...but it got even better.
No, I'm not talking about the fact he dropped at the draft because of his height, although that did play a part in it. I'm talking about how the Montreal Canadiens got the second-round pick they would eventually use to draft him.
Back in 2018, the Canadiens were struggling mightily and it was all too obvious they wouldn't be making the playoffs and GM Marc Bergevin would be a seller at the trade deadline.
To acquire assets, he traded (well lent really) Tomas Plekanec to the Toronto Maple Leafs alongside Kyle Baun in return for a second-round pick at the 2018 draft, a 23-year-old 2013 first-rounder in forward Kerby Rychel and 22-year-old defenseman Rinat Valiev.
Plekanec jumps on the ice for the game after being honored by the Montreal Canadiens for playing his 1,000th game in the NHL.
The second-round pick became Jacob Olofsson at the draft, a center who was never signed to a contract by the Canadiens. The team therefore relinquished their rights to him, since he wasn't signed before the June 2022 deadline to do so.
As for Rychel, he became a RFA the following Summer and Montreal sent him to the Calgary Flames in return for another RFA; Hunter Shinkaruk. He played one season with the Laval Rocket before the Canadiens failed to give him a qualifying offer and he left in free agency.
Finally, Valiev played seven games in the Canadiens' organization before being packaged with Matt Taormina and shipped to the Edmonton Oilers for defenseman Brett Kulak.
The trade tree doesn't die there though, Kulak played three and a half seasons with Montreal before they traded him to his hometown Edmonton Oilers for William Lagesson, a seventh-round pick at the 2024 draft who became Rasmus Bergqvist and finally, the all important second-round pick at the 2022 draft that would become one of the Canadiens' most prized prospects right now, Lane Hutson.
As he readies to play his first full professional season, you can almost feel the anticipation in Montreal, especially since he featured in the last two games of this season. Hutson jerseys are already selling well at the Canadiens' official store and it goes without saying the fans have a lot of expectations for the young man.
The Canadiens know what they are doing and they won't rush Hutson, but I wouldn't be that surprised if they kept him with the big club to avoid the chances of getting run over by a career AHLer in the lower league.
In any case, fans and management alike should be thanking their lucky stars Bergevin decided to trade Plekanec, considering what the deal set in motion. Besides, Plekanec did re-sign with Montreal in the following Summer and played his 1,000th game with the organization after unknowingly giving his team one last gift.
Geoff Molson, Canadiens' legend Guy Lafleur, and general manager Marc Bergevin after giving Tomas Plekanec the silver stick representing his 1,000 games in the NHL.
