Add another big trade to an already busy NHL offseason.
The Montreal Canadiens on Monday traded forward Daniel Briere to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for winger P.A. Parenteau and a 2015 fifth-round draft pick.
Both players will earn $4 million next season, but Parenteau is under contract through 2015-16, while Briere has just one year left on his deal. The veteran forward waived his no-trade clause to complete the trade.
Parenteau totaled 33 points on 14 goals and 19 assists in just 55 games for an upstart Avalanche squad that fell to the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the playoffs. He tallied three points in seven postseason contests.
Briere had just 25 points in 69 games for Montreal last season. He had seven points for the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but only one came in the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Rangers.
Montreal get a solid scorer and a bit younger with 31-year-old Parenteau, who has 32 goals over his last 103 games. Briere, who’s 36, hasn’t passed the 50-point mark since 2010-11, but Colorado says it’s excited to bring in a veteran like him.
“Daniel is a veteran who brings experience to our hockey club,” Avalanche executive vice president Joe Sakic said, via NHL.com. “We’re looking forward to him joining our team.”
Photo via USA Today Sports Images
