Toronto Maple Leafs and Canadiens make for unlikely trade partners

2008 – Leafs grab Grabovski

The last time the Toronto Maple Leafs made a trade with the Canadiens was nearly 10 years ago, when Mikhail Grabovski was sent to Toronto in exchange for Greg Pateryn and a 2010 second round pick (Jared Knight).

After being drafted by the Canadiens in the fifth round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Grabovski struggled to crack the starting lineup in Montreal from 2006-2008.

In two seasons Grabovski played in only 27 regular season games, with three goals and six assists to his name.

When the trade was announced in 2008 no one paid much attention to Grabovski, but he impressed in his first full season with 48 points (20 goals, 28 assists) in 78 regular season games for the Leafs.

Grabovski would end up having a decent career in Toronto, playing five seasons with 208 points (92 goals, 117 assists) in 340 regular season games. He was also part of the team that reached the 2012 playoffs and ended a eight-year playoff drought.

The Canadiens would receive Pateryn who played in 82 regular season games over four seasons in Montreal on defence, before being traded to the Dallas Stars along with a 2017 fourth round draft pick for defenceman Jordie Benn last year.

Meanwhile, Knight never made it past the AHL and was last playing professional hockey in Denmark during the 2016-2017 season.