The Montreal Canadiens traded right wing Jacob Perreault to the Edmonton Oilers for defenseman Noel Hoffenmayer. On the surface, it’s an AHL depth trade for both teams. But I’ll try to point out what each team is looking for.
Perreault is the son of former Canadien Yanic, a different kind of player, and the brother of Gabe, his younger brother. It’s a great hockey family and he’s only 22, but his dreams of becoming a consistent scorer haven’t been realized yet.
Perreault is a predominantly attacking player. InStat has him on just 20% of defensive zone starts. He clearly didn’t shoot enough at Bakersfield, averaging just 1.25 shots per game, but he only got about 10 minutes of 5 of 5 plays. That’s really protecting him and trying to take advantage of his great shot. His speed is really good, but he can be wild on the ice. His defense is below average, so the Oilers will definitely try to get his offense going. He needs more ice time for that. At his best, he is a scoring threat. I’m not sure if they will promote him this season.
Related: Jacob Perreault gets a fresh start with the Canadiens
Noel Hoefenmayer is someone I have been following for a while. He has guided organizations. I heard and saw some good things in Toronto. In 2022-23 he scored 38 points in 65 games. He is an attacking defender. Last year at Bakersfield, that offense disappeared.
His defense is slightly better, but not NHL average. He’s 25, so the Canadiens got him because of his offense and what he can do on the power play. He has a good shot and is an excellent passer. I don’t think Hoefenmayer is anything more than an NHL call-up at this point. They probably helped Perreault as much as adding depth on the blue line.
This is kind of a craft deal for the Canadiens.
