(SB Nation, Travis Hughes) – The Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators have made another trade. 10 days after the Predators acquired defenseman Hal Gill from the Canadiens, they’ve done the same with winger Andrei Kostitsyn. It’s the first deal of NHL Trade Deadline day 2012, and it was first reported by RDS.
In exchange for Kostitsyn, the Predators have sent a second-round pick in the 2013 draft, plus the conditional pick they received from Montreal in that Gill trade, according to ESPN.
Kostitsyn’s played his entire career to date in Montreal, but he’ll be reunited with brother Sergei in Nashville. The two played together with the Canadiens for three seasons from 2007 to 2010. There have been questions about the motivation level of the Kostitsyn brothers, and Sergei has been a noticeably better player since leaving his brother behind in Montreal. Reuniting the brothers could certainly be called a risk, but there’s no questioning Andrei’s skill level, and the Predators could certainly use a scoring forward like him.
A week prior to the deadline, Andrei reportedly told the Montreal Gazette that he “doesn’t want to go to Nashville,” which throws a completely unique spin on this entire deal.
Follow along with 2012 NHL Trade Deadline day with SBNation.com’s comprehensive deadline StoryStream.