The Montreal Canadiens officially acquired goaltender Ben Scrivens from the Edmonton Oilers on Monday in exchange for forward Zack Kassian.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported Edmonton will retain 24 percent of Scrivens’ salary, which equates to about $552,000.
The Canadiens have sent backup goalie Dustin Tokarski to the AHL to make room for Scrivens on the NHL roster, per Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.
Scrivens upgrades a Montreal goaltending situation that has been a real concern since reigning Hart and Vezina trophy winner Carey Price went down with an injury in late November.
Mike Condon has started the majority of the games in Price absence and posted a lackluster .881 save percentage and a 1-9-0 record in the month of December. That’s a far different rate of success than the 10-2-0 mark Montreal went when Price was in net.
Scrivens has a .905 career save percentage, but he has played on bad defensive teams (Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs) most of his career. His best season was 2013-14 when he posted a .931 save percentage in 19 games as Jonathan Quick’s backup on the Los Angeles Kings.
Click to see whom NHL teams should target in trades >>
Thumbnail photo via Perry Nelson/USA TODAY Sports Images
