The Montreal Canadiens have traded forward Evgenii Dadonov to the Dallas Stars in exchange for forward Denis Gurianov.

With the trade deadline less than a week away, teams across the NHL have begun making moves at a dizzying pace. 

The Montreal Canadiens wasted no time getting in on the action for themselves on Sunday morning, sending forward Evgenii Dadonov to the Dallas Stars in exchange for forward Denis Gurianov. 

As per the terms of the deal, the Canadiens will retain 50 percent of Dadonov's $5-million cap hit. 

It's not exactly a surprising move on the surface. Things were simply not working out for Dadonov in Montreal by any metric. 

The 33-year-old has spent the 2022-23 campaign producing career-low numbers across the board, heading to Dallas with just four goals and 14 assists for 18 points in 50 games while logging a mere 14:32 in nightly ice time. 

Set to hit the free agent market this summer, Dadonov was an expiring asset that did not fit the plans of his team, making him a prime candidate to be sold off before Mar. 3. With the Stars, Dadonov will now join a club in the thick of a heated playoff race and sits atop the Central Division, potentially even getting some usage alongside the likes of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Mason Marchment, among others, in the top six. 

As for Gurianov, the talented winger never managed to find his footing in Dallas after being selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2015 NHL draft and could very likely use a fresh start to get his career back on track. In 43 games this season, Gurianov has mustered two goals and seven assists for nine points, all while his nightly ice time has dipped to just above 12 minutes. 

In a Canadiens lineup desperately hungering for talent, Gurianov will likely be given a shot to play a featured role for the club throughout the final stretch of what is ultimately a lost season, all before becoming an RFA at year's end. 

The veteran goes to the win-now club while the youngster joins a rebuild. That, folks, is what we call a "hockey trade."