The Montreal Canadiens traded defenseman Joel Edmundson to the Washington Capitals for a draft pick.
The Canadiens receive third- and seventh-round picks in 2024. The third-round pick originally belonged to the Minnesota Wild.
The Habs are also withholding half of the 30-year-old defender’s salary. Edmundson has one more season to go on a contract earning him US$3.5 million a year.
Edmundson played three seasons with the Canadiens and helped the team reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.
He has, however, been plagued by a lower back injury in the last two campaigns and has been limited to 24 and 61 games in 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively.
2011 St. Louis Blues second-round pick, 46e in total, Edmundson had 28 goals and 76 assists in 477 NHL games with the Blues, Carolina Hurricanes and Canadiens.
Edmundson won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019.
The Canadiens lost one of their depth players when the free agent market opened, as Alex Belzile accepted a two-year offer from the New York Rangers.
The Saint-Éloi native had six goals and eight assists in 31 games last season with the Canadiens.
The Habs got reinforcements for the Laval Rocket, their school club in the American Hockey League. He signed two-way, one-year contracts to forward Philippe Maillet and defender Brady Keeper.
Maillet spent the past two seasons with Metallurg of Magnitogorsk in the KHL, totaling 92 points, including 37 goals, in 113 games. The Lachenaie native played two games with the Washington Capitals during the 2020-21 season.
For his part, Keeper wore the colors of the Abbotsford Canucks last season, amassing a goal and five assists in 35 games. Keeper also played two NHL games with the Florida Panthers.