The Montreal Canadiens have added some scoring depth to their lineup as they acquired forward Thomas Vanek from the New York Islanders right before the deadline Wednesday.
Many teams were reported to have interest in Vanek throughout the day. With the Canadiens chasing the Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division, the deal will give head coach Michel Therrien the offensive boost he needs.
“I’m excited, it’s an electric city with great fans and a great building so I’m excited to join them,” Vanek said.
The former first-round pick has 21 goals and 53 points this season and has scored at least 20 goals in each of his nine seasons in the NHL.
Vanek was traded from the Buffalo Sabres to the Islanders earlier this season and it was speculated that a deal would be apparent sometime Wednesday especially with John Tavares being out indefinitely. New York has struggled all season to find an identity even after spending a majority of the year in the basement of the Metropolitan Division.
