Montréal Canadiens acquire Christian Dvorak from Arizona Coyotes for draft picks

The Montréal Canadiens have moved quickly to shore up their centre depth following the loss of Jesperi Kotkaniemi to the Carolina Hurricanes via an offer sheet, acquiring Christian Dvorak from the Arizona Coyotes for a first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and a second-round pick in 2024.

The stipulation on the first-round pick in the 2022 draft is that the Coyotes will receive the better pick of the two in the Canadiens possession, their own and the Hurricanes pick they acquired earlier this afternoon as payment for the Kotkaniemi offer sheet.

Dvorak, 25, notched 31 points (17 goals and 14 assists) in 56 games last season in a high leverage role for the Coyotes. He's set to enter the third year of a six-year, $26.7 million deal with a $4.45-million cap charge.

Christian Dvorak, reportedly acquired by MTL, is a top six two-way centre with an okay shot. Played heavy match-up minutes for the Coyotes last season. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/j73PzRbffM

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) September 4, 2021