Dallas Stars trade Jordie Benn to the Montreal Canadiens for Greg Pateryn and a fourth-round pick

The Dallas Stars have traded Jordie Benn to the Montreal Canadiens for Greg Pateryn and a fourth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Montreal made the call to offer the deal this morning.

“It was this morning. I got a call from Montreal, they’ve been watching our team for a while. I sat down with our whole staff, it was a pretty big move,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said. “So we sat down and we talked about it. Lots of different factors that come into play with expansion, and this was best move from our team moving forward. We hope the best for Jordie and hope he can go win a Stanley Cup.”

Nill said he’s familiar with Pateryn and scouted him quite a bit when the defender played at University of Michigan.

“Saw him play a lot at U of M. Heavy defender, right shot, which you can never have enough of,” Nill said. “Great person on and off the ice, next step and an opportunity for him.”

Here is the official release from Montreal:

MONTREAL – The Canadiens acquired defenseman Jordie Benn from the Dallas Stars on Monday in exchange for defenseman Greg Pateryn and a fourth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Benn, 29, played 58 games with the Stars during the 2016-17 campaign. He scored two goals and added 13 assists for 15 points, while also posting a minus-3 differential and amassing 24 penalty minutes.
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Pateryn, 26, leaves the Canadiens after spending five years in the organization. He suffered a fractured ankle earlier this season that caused him to miss significant playing time. Pateryn appeared in 24 games this year, amassing one goal and six points.