Montreal Canadiens acquire Aaron Luchuk and draft pick for Matthew Peca
The Canadiens get another seventh-round pick for the 2020 draft, one of the few rounds for which they didn’t hold two selections.
Montreal continues to make small moves ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline, adding AHL forward Aaron Luchuk in exchange for forward Matthew Peca.
The Canadiens have acquired Ottawa’s seventh-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, as well as forward Aaron Luchuk, in return for forward Matthew Peca. Luchuk will report to the AHL's Laval Rocket.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/iQ3NMaNAcK
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 24, 2020
While Peca was originally signed to help shore up Montreal’s bottom six, he never found his groove and spent most of this past season with the Laval Rocket. Despite being used in larger roles as a veteran Peca failed to make much impact, falling down the lineup quickly, playing most nights on the fourth line.
Overall in his Canadiens career, Peca played 44 games, with just three goals and seven assists, and for the Rocket this season compiled just 13 points in 34 games.
Luchuk is an interesting case as he has spent most of the year in the ECHL due to an abundance of depth in the Senators’ AHL organization. While he is currently assigned to the Brampton Beast, it is likely that Luchuk will join the Rocket in short order to fill out their lineup.
Also included is Ottawa’s seventh-round draft pick in 2020, adding another piece to Bergevin’s substantial war chest.