With the NHL Trade Deadline quickly approaching, the Montreal Canadiens have agreed to trade forward Tomas Plekanec and Kyle Baun to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for defence prospect Rinat Valiev, Kerby Rychel, and the Leafs 2018 second round pick.

TRADE:

To #Leafs
F Tomas Plekanec (50% retained)
F Kyle Baun

To #Habs
F Kerby Rychel
D Rinat Valiev
2018 2nd RD pickhttps://t.co/pOmLyOX15A

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) February 25, 2018

The Montreal Canadiens have traded Tomas Plekanec to the Toronto Maple Leafs

To Toronto

The Leafs acquire a veteran centre in Plekanec. Plekanec will help Toronto on faceoffs as he is a career 49.8% on draws. He will also bring experience come playoff time. In his career, he has played in 87 post-season games. This year, Plekanec has six goals and 24 points in 60 games. He also added 39 minutes in penalties. Plekanec has played with the Habs for his entire 14-year career. He has 232 goals and 373 assists in 981 career games with the Habs. He was originally drafted in the third round, 71st overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Plekanec is in the final year of a two-year, $12 million contract extension signed during the 2015-16 season, and that began on July 1st, 2016. Plekanec is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, 2018.

Kyle Baun, 25, has four goals and 12 assists for 16 points in 54 games with the Laval Rocket this year. He is the grandson of Leafs legend Bob Baun.

To Montreal

Valiev, 22, is a left-handed defenceman whom the Leafs drafted in the third round, 68th overall in the 2014 NHL draft. He played in 10 NHL games in 2015-16 but is still looking for his first career point. In 40 AHL games with the Marlies this season he has five goals and 15 points.

Rychel, 23, is a former first-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets. In 37 NHL games he has two goals and 12 points. He has 10 goals and 30 points in 55 games with the Toronto Marlies this year.

The Canadiens now have nine picks in the 2018 NHL draft, all in the first five rounds. This includes four second-round picks.

Main Photo: MONTREAL, QC – JANUARY 18: Tomas Plekanec #14 of the Montreal Canadiens skates during the NHL game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Bell Centre on January 18, 2017 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)