Jets acquire veteran centre Sean Monahan in trade with Canadiens

The Winnipeg Jets have bolstered their depth down the middle.

Winnipeg has acquired veteran centre Sean Monahan from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a 2024 first-round draft pick and a conditional third-round pick in 2027, the Jets announced Friday.

The six-foot-two, 202-pound Monahan has tallied 13 goals and 35 points in 49 games so for this season, his second campaign with the Habs. He's also won 55 per cent of his faceoffs over the the past two years.

Winnipeg Jet general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff says he's looking for Monahan to bring a strong presence to the faceoff circle as well as its defensive back end

"He's a real professional and one of the strengths he does have is faceoffs," Cheveldayoff said during a Zoom media availability.

"It'll help the other guys as well because sometimes in games when faceoffs are going in the wrong direction, all it takes is one guy to tip it the other way."

A former sixth overall pick, Monahan spent the first nine years of his NHL career with the Calgary Flames before he was dealt to Montreal in August 2022. His first season with the Habs was cut short because of a groin injury.

Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes disputed suggestions that Monahan's injury history was a factor in terms of getting the deal done well before the NHL trade deadline.

"Any time you go through this process you try to understand the market, you try to understand who is or may be interested in the services of, in this case, Sean Monahan, what the upside would be and you measure that against the risk of any player," Hughes said.

"I don't have any specific concern in relation to Sean. If I did we wouldn't have signed him."

Cheveldayoff also downplayed concerns about Monahan's durability, saying that every player faces the possibility of injury.

"Players get injured, that's the nature of the game," Cheveldayoff said.

"You ask as many questions as you can, you get as much knowledge as you can, you weigh the risk/reward and if you choose to go for it, you go for it."

WATCH | Local hockey podcaster weighs in:

Winnipeg hockey podcaster weighs in on Jets' acquisition of Sean Monahan

10 months ago

Duration 4:37

Alyssa Houde, co-host of the hockey podcast Can't Teach Size, talks to CBC's Riley Laychuk about Friday's trade between Winnipeg and Montreal, which saw centre Sean Monahan join the Jets.

The 29-year-old from Brampton, Ont., has amassed 514 points (231 goals, 283 assists) in 730 career games. His best season was 2018-19 when he recorded 82 points (34 goals, 48 assists) and was the recipient of the the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, an award which recognizes sportsmanship combined with a high level of on-ice play.

Monahan will be an unrestricted free agent afer this season.

The Jets sit third in the Central Division standings — two points behind the division-leading Colorado Avalanche — but they lost their last three games before the all-star break. Montreal is 13th in the Eastern Conference standings with 48 points — 10 points out of a playoff spot.