Sergei Gonchar let Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill know over the summer hed be willing to accept a trade if it meant going to a Stanley Cup contender. Colby Rasmus Jersey .Nill made his move Tuesday by sending the 40-year-old defenceman to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for left-winger Travis Moen. The Canadiens get the depth on the blue-line they were seeking, while the sputtering Stars get a role player up front and open up a spot for younger contributors.I dont want to run Montreals business, but when I look at their defence I just think hes a good fit for them, Nill said on a conference call. Theyve got some good puck-movers, they got a couple other good Russian players there. Hes going to be a good fit for them. Hes a first-class individual, he brings experience of winning.Gonchar, whos in his 20th NHL season, joins the Habs after previous stints in Dallas, Ottawa, Pittsburgh and Washington. He played for current Montreal coach Michel Therrien with the Penguins.The veteran blue-liner joins fellow Russians Andrei Markov and Alexei Emelin, likely pushing out a younger player like Jarred Tinordi or Nathan Beaulieu. Gonchar has a salary-cap hit of US$5 million on his deal that expires at the end of this season.After missing the first 11 games of the season with a broken foot, Gonchar played the past three and recorded an assist.Nill said Gonchar was a positive influence on 19-year-old Valeri Nichushkin and also on the Stars young defencemen. With other players like John Klingberg and Julius Honka in the pipeline, trading Gonchar opens up a spot in the lineup.Theyve earned the right, the opportunity, Nill said. I needed to start opening up some doors and some opportunity for them.And, Nill said, this is an opportunity in Montreal for Gonchar, who has 798 points (219-579) in 1,256 regular-season games since making his NHL debut in 1994-95.I think Montreals got as good a chance as anybody to win the Cup, and its a good opportunity for Sergei to go in there and show what he can do to help them, Nill said.Going the other way is Moen, a respected veteran in the Habs locker-room but someone who had been a healthy scratch a handful of times already this season. Because of that, the 32-year-old native of Stewart Valley, Sask., wasnt surprised to get the call from GM Marc Bergevin that hed been traded.Any time obviously youre not in the lineup youre always questioning, wondering whats coming down the road, Moen said on a conference call. This year I just wanted to play hockey and help my team and I was kind of in and out of the lineup. When something like this happens, you look back and youre not too surprised, thats for sure.Moen, who did not have a point in 10 games this season, said he did not request a trade and appreciated Bergevins honesty during the process.The trade of Moen is another change from the Habs team that went to the Eastern Conference final. Captain Brian Gionta left in free agency, and alternate captain Josh Gorges was traded to the Buffalo Sabres.In September, Gionta mentioned Moen as someone hed recommend to replace him as captain. Instead, Montreal went with four alternates — Markov, P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec.I think its just kind of a coincidence its veterans going, Moen said of the Habs changes. Its the way the game goes sometimes.By taking on Gonchars heavier salary this season, the Habs freed up some room in 2015-16. Moen has one more year left on his contract after this one at a cap hit of US$1.85 million.I have a lot of players I possibly could be losing next year I have to make decisions on, Nill said. Travis, I know what he is, hes a character player, were always going to need those type of players Nill expects Moen to be a big part of the Stars penalty-killing. But for a team that has lost seven in a row, getting a gritty bottom-six forward may not be the end of the moves.Its a start.Were open to it, Nill said. We have to find out internally what we have first. Thats what this trade allows us to do now.---Follow @SWhyno on Twitter Jose Cruz Astros Jersey .Y. - Matt Harvey wants to make sure hes on the mound in late October — if the New York Mets get there for the first time since 2006. Evan Gattis Jersey . The Wizards gave up two seldom-used players — forward Jan Vesely and point guard Eric Maynor. Vesely goes to the Nuggets, while Maynor gets shipped to the 76ers. Philadelphia receives two second-round draft picks, one from the Wizards in 2015 and one from the Nuggets in 2016.ERIE, Pa. -- Dane Fox scored his 61st and 62nd goals of the season and Brendan Gaunce had a goal and three assists as the Erie Otters downed the Kitchener Rangers 7-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Connor McDavid scored once and set up two more for the Otters (49-15-2), who extended their win streak to five games, while Joel Wigle, Troy Donnay and Andre Burakovsky added a goal apiece. OHL leading scorer Connor Brown chipped in with two assists for Erie and now has 123 points in 65 games. Nick Maygar, Ryan MacInnis and Matia Marcantuoni supplied the goals for the Rangers (22-40-3), who are on an eight-game slide, and Frank Hora tacked on two assists. Oscar Dansk allowed three goals on 12 shots for the Otters before giving way to Devin Williams, who stopped all six shots he faced in 29 minutes of relief. Kitcheners Matthew Greenfield stopped 29-of-34 shots in defeat. --- PETES 7 67s 0 PETERBOROUGH, Ont. -- Josh MacDonald and Greg Betzold each scored twice and Andrew DAgostini stopped 30 shots as the Petes blanked Ottawa. Doug Fister Jersey. Hunter Garlent had a goal and two assists for Peterborough (31-28-5) while Nick Ritchie and Nelson Armstrong had the others. Travis Konecny and Jacob Middleton were a team-worst minus-3 for the 67s (23-36-5), who sit seventh in the Eastern Conference standings with four games remaining on the regular-season schedule. Ottawas Philippe Trudeau stopped 30-of-37 shots in a losing cause. --- KNIGHTS 5 ATTACK 1 OWEN SOUND, Ont. -- Jake Patterson stopped 28 shots for his ninth win in a row as London toppled the Attack. Gemel Smith, Brett Welychka, Bo Horvat, Max Domi and Chandler Yakimowicz scored for the Knights (47-13-5) and Ryan Rupert chipped in with two assists. Kyle Hope scored the lone goal for Owen Sound (29-28-8). 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