TRADE DEADLINE: Ducks trade former first-round pick to Canadiens in prospect swap
The Canadiens and Ducks have traded young forward prospects Jan Mysak and Jacob Perreault, as confirmed by both teams. It’s a one-to-one exchange of under-22 prospects who have faced challenges in progressing with their respective minor league teams.
Perreault, a 21-year-old from Montreal, was drafted in the first round by the Ducks in 2020 following a remarkable season with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, where he scored 39 goals and 70 points in 59 games. Despite a strong rookie season in the AHL with San Diego in 2020-21 (17 points in 27 games), his production has declined, managing seven goals and 18 points in 31 games this season with a -3 rating. Although he debuted in the NHL in January 2022, he has not played in the top league since then. He still has one year left on his entry-level contract with a cap hit of $863.3K and won’t be a restricted free agent until the summer of 2025.
Jacob, who comes from a hockey family with his father being former Canadien Yanic Perreault and his brother a Rangers prospect, is a natural right-winger. In contrast, Mysak, who is 21 and from the Czech Republic, can also play center. He was chosen by Montreal in the second round in 2020 and quickly transitioned to professional hockey, being allowed to play for the AHL’s Laval Rocket in 2020-21 because the OHL paused its games due to COVID.
After scoring two goals in 22 AHL games, he returned to the OHL the following season, where he impressed by tallying 34 goals and 64 points in 61 games for the Hamilton Bulldogs and reaching a Memorial Cup appearance. Unlike Perreault, Mysak has seen an upward trend in his performance in the minors, with 20 points in 48 games for AHL Laval this year compared to just nine in 40 games last season. He is also in the second year of his entry-level contract with a slightly lower cap hit of $828.3K and will become a restricted free agent in 2025.
Since both players were assigned to the minor leagues at the time of the trade, there is no salary cap impact for either team.
