NHL Trade News: Montreal Canadiens Ship AHL Prospect Ben Maxwell to Atlanta

Update—2:08 PM

The Montreal Canadiens traded Ben Maxwell and a fourth-round pick to the Atlanta Thrashers for defenseman Brent Sopel and forward Nigel Dawes.

Here is the 4-1-1 on both former Thrashers:

Brent Sopel

http://espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?playerId=879

Nigel Dawes

http://espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?playerId=3041

Habs Press Release

http://www.habsaddict.com/2011/02/canadiens-press-release-habs-trade-ben.html

According to RDS, the Montreal Canadiens have made their first foray into the trade-deadline frenzy by shipping prospect Ben Maxwell out of town.

There is no word yet as to which team has picked him up or what the return is.

In 49 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs this season, Maxwell has 40 points (11 goals, 29 assists) and a minus-2 rating.

Trading Maxwell was a logical move given the logjam at center with Tomas Plekanec, Scott Gomez, David Desharnais, Lars Eller and Jeff Halpern.

Check back for more details and links as news comes out.

RDS—Ben Maxwell échangé par le Canadien

http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/315586.html

Hockey's Future Profile on Maxwell

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/ben_maxwell

So, do you think this is it, or are there more moves to come from Montreal GM Pierre Gauthier?

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