Montreal Canadiens acquire Denis Gurianov from Dallas Stars for Evgenii Dadonov

The Montreal Canadiens have acquired forward Denis Guraianov from the Dallas Stars in exchange for forward Evgenii Dadonov.

Montreal will retain 50 percent of Dadonov’s $5 million AAV deal until the end of the year. That means they’ll hold on to $2.5 million of that, plus Gurianov’s $2.9 million AAV.

According to CapFriendly, the Stars currently have $1.878 million in cap space, with $2.101 million in deadline cap room ahead of what could be an interesting deadline for the club.

Gurianov, 25, has played his entire career with Dallas since getting selected 12th overall in 2015. The 6-foot-3 forward never managed to produce a ton in the NHL, but saw his production go from 29-30-31 points over a three-year period. Gurianov has struggled in Dallas’ bottom six this year with just two goals and nine points in 43 games.

Perhaps this opportunity in Montreal could help spark Gurianov’s production like it did for Kirby Dach. He has speed, size and can generate scoring chances, but the chances haven’t materalized. He’ll have a better chance to earn more ice time in Montreal as the team sits near the bottom of the standings.

Dadonov, 33, has four goals and 18 points in 50 games for the Canadiens this year. Last summer, he was acquired from Vegas in a deal that sent Shea Weber’s contract to the Golden Knights. Dadonov had 43 points last season, but hasn’t managed to come close to those numbers this season. Dadonov had 70 points in 2018-19 while playing a crucial role with the Florida Panthers.

The Stars currently sits first in the Central Division with 74 points, four ahead of Seattle in the wild-card race. The Canadiens are 26th in the league and in the running for Connor Bedard just a year after selecting Juraj Slafkovsky with the first overall pick.