Christian Thomas and Danny Kristo are going to be getting fresh starts.
Tuesday afternoon, the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers announced they had come to a deal involving a one-for-one swap of the two young forwards.
Thomas, son of former NHLer Steve Thomas, was sent to Montreal after only his first full AHL campaign. At 20, the Toronto native put together a decent year for a rookie, racking up 19 goals and 16 assists in his first pro-season.
Drafted in the second round of the 2010 draft by the Rangers, Thomas was well above average in the OHL during his four seasons with the Oshawa Generals. However, it seems as though the Rangers were either unhappy with his development or looking for something different, which is where the deal with the Habs comes in.
Kristo, 23, is a former University of North Dakota standout who is moving on before even really getting a shot with the Canadiens. Habs GM Marc Bergevin had talked about Kristo’s attitude in September of last season, and it could be a reason why the 2008 second-rounder was dealt.
Corey Pronman of Hockey Prospectus said that on-ice, the Rangers came out ahead in this deal.
From Pronman:
On pure talent Kristo is a better prospect than Christian Thomas. That’s not to say Thomas is a poor prospect as he has character, offensive ability and he could be an average to above-average pro. However Kristo is arguably a top 100 drafted prospect in hockey with significant upside even if he does carry more risk than Thomas. In a one for one deal, it’s hard to make a perfectly equal trade and one team usually comes out ahead. In my opinion it was the Rangers.
(s/t to Corey Pronman for the Bergevin tweet)
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