| Douglas Benton. 27th February, 2008 - 3:07 pm
 The Montreal Canadiens pulled off the real shocker of the day by trading Cristobal Huet, their starting goaltender, to the Washington Capitals for a 2009 second round pick. The Canadiens will now turn to rookie Carey Price while Huet will take over the starting role from Washington mainstay Olaf Kolzig.
For Montreal, this is to clear the way for Price, who at only 20 years old, has burst onto the scene and shown flashes of future greatness. He is 13-9-3 with a 2.76 GAA and has won four of his last six games. The Canadiens also got a second round pick in 2009, which is good because draft picks in today’s NHL are one of the best assets a team can possess.
In Huet, the Capitals get one of the better goaltenders in the league even though he has slumped some in recent weeks. He is 21-12-6 with a 2.56 GAA. However, unlike Price who has played well lately, Huet has struggled. He has lost four of six games and given up four or more goals in five of those games.
It is clear from this trade that the Canadiens feel Price is ready right now to compete in high level playoff hockey because before this trade, they were at the back end of the discussion in the Eastern Conference. For Washington, this is the signature move in a day which signals an organizational charge to make the playoffs in 2008.
Canadiens (D) This trade makes no sense to me. You are in the hunt in the Eastern Conference and you trade away your tried and true goaltender and will now insert a 20-year-old to go into New Jersey and Pittsburgh to stave off elimination. For all of this trouble, you get a second round pick NEXT YEAR when the Capitals could be a force. This was a bad trade for my money.
Capitals (A-) The only reason this doesn’t get an A is because of the fixture Kolzig has become in Washington. Even with better play in net, it could still affect the team in a negative way. However, I think the Capitals will be fine, and I think this move will propel them into the playoffs.
Who do you think is better this year, Huet or Price? Email your thoughts to Douglas.Benton@realgm.com
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