Montreal Canadiens Acquire Brent Sopel

Brent Sopel Headed to Montreal


To Montreal: 
Brent Sopel 
Nigel Dawes 

To Thrashers:
Ben Maxwell 
4th Round Draft Pick in 2011








Review:
The Canadiens have been desperate for NHL defensemen as of late because of all the injuries they have had to endure to key guys like Markov, Gorges, and Spacek. By acquiring Brent Sopel they get a guy that will play a solid game from the back-end and can eat up crucial minutes. When Josh Gorges went down the Habs lost one of their best PK men and one of their best shot blockers. Sopel will provide some relief to that problem as he specializes in both of those areas. He led the Thrashers defense in Average Short Handed Time On Ice Per Game with 3 minutes and 21 seconds per game and he was 2nd on the team in Blocked Shot with 130. With those stats on the Canadiens he would be tied for the lead on the team in blocked shots and 3rd on the team's defense in SH TOI. Those two categories will be greatly helped by the arrival of Sopel. The Canadiens also were sent Nigel Dawes in the deal. The 26 year old Dawes, is a small hardworking winger that has good hands and scoring ability but has not been able to round out his game fully. His play without the puck is a concern and is one of the reasons why he hasn't been able to stick around anywhere. Last year he had a solid season with the Flames as he scored 14 goals and was awarded 18 assists for 32 points but he has had real difficulty replicating that success this year. He has only been given 9 games in the NHL throughout the season probably due to the fact that in those games he has only gotten 1 assist. Although he has not put it together in the NHL thus far this season he has done well in the AHL with 27 goals and 17 assists for 44 points in 47 games. So at the very least, the Habs are able to get themselves a decent NHL depth/AHL first call-up type forward. For these two players, probably more for Sopel as Dawes was most likely just a throw in to fill Maxwell's spot down in Hamilton, the Canadiens gave up 22 year old forward Ben Maxwell and a 4th round draft pick in this year's draft. The Thrashers seem to be gearing towards acquiring younger players with potential instead of players in their prime and Maxwell fits exactly what they are looking for. He was drafted in the 2nd round, 49th overall, by the Habs in the 2006 draft and he is beginning to look like he is NHL ready or at least close to it. In 47 games this season for the Canadiens AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs, he has put up 11 goals and 29 assists for 40 points. He is a very good two-way player and is good in his own zone. Along with his good two-way ability, his hockey sense is very strong and its what enables him to display some very creative playmaking abilities. He should be ready for full-time NHL action in the near future. The 4th round pick the Thrashers got will be important if they feel like they want to try and move it out in the next few days for some help to their current NHL roster. 


Short-Term Winner: Canadiens, they were able to get a defenseman that filled two crucial missing roles in their line-up, shot blockers and Penalty Killers. He will also eat up some minutes which will allow some extra flexibility to the rest of the Habs' defenders.


Long-Term Winner: This is a close one, Sopel is on the back end of his career as he is 34 years old but he will be an important piece for this season. The Thrashers get a guy in Maxwell that I believe will turn out to be a very solid 3rd line center and also a 4th round draft pick. So I think I am going to slightly lean towards the Thrashers.