The Lars Eller trade continues to pay off for the CH and has resulted in the acquisition of a promising young defenseman in Jordan Harris

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MarcO
January 20, 2023 (6:31 PM)

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When thinking about Lars Eller's time with the Habs, most fans still remember that he was acquired from the St. Louis Blues in June 2010 in exchange for the previous playoff hero, Jaroslav Halak. For others, it was his four-goal game against the Winnipeg Jets in January 2012.

In six seasons in Montreal, the Danish forward collected 154 points, including 71 goals in 435 games, before being sent to the Washington Capitals in the summer of 2016 in return for two second-round picks, one in 2017 and the other in 2018.

But did you know that this trade continues to impact the current edition of the Habs?

As reported by Cimon Asselin of Habsolumentfan.com, Marc Bergevin had used the 2nd round pick in 2017 to draft Joni Ikonen. But unfortunately, the Finnish forward suffered major injuries and was eventually released in the summer of 2021.

However, it was with the second round selection that the former Habs GM made his trade worthwhile. In the 2018 draft, Bergevin used that second pick to trade him to the Edmonton Oilers for a third and fifth round pick in 2018.

While the Habs drafted forward Samuel Houde with the fifth-round pick, the third-round pick brought a young American defenseman by the name of Jordan Harris to the organization at No. 71 in the 2018 draft.

After hesitating to join the Habs, Harris finally put his signature on an entry-level contract last season and is now a regular defenseman for the team with a very respectable rookie season. He has 11 points in 40 games so far this season, just four points behind Lars Eller.

Basically, you could say that it's as if Marc Bergevin had traded Lars Eller for Jordan Harris.

However, we wonder if it is not the arrival of Kent Hughes that convinced Harris to sign with the Habs because, we remember that the negotiations were difficult to say the least between the young defenseman's clan and the Habs' former management.

We can say a big thank you to Kent Hughes for the arrival of Jordan Harris in Montreal and I have the impression that Habs fans don't miss the former number 81 anymore.