Capitals acquire Eller from Canadiens for 2nd-round picks

The Hawks now have three picks in the second round of this year’s draft.

The Caps wanted to add to their forward depth this summer; they’ve taken the first step towards doing that by acquiring Lars Eller from the Montreal Canadiens for their 2017 and 2018 second round picks.

Eller is a 27-year-old center from Denmark with six seasons and change under his belt. He averages 15 minutes per game over his career and always plays on the edge.

Joshua Cooper captured Maclellan chatting with Montreal GM Marc Bergevin before the trade. This will certainly have an impact on the role Marcus Johansson, but we don’t know what that impact is just yet.

Shaw was traded to the Canadiens on Friday in exchange for a pair of second-round draft picks in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Washington will be getting a skilled forward who had 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points during the 2015-16 season. He scored two goals on October 10 at Boston and played in his 400th National Hockey League game on December 26 at Washington.

Eller, 27, had 13 goals and 13 assists in 79 games a year ago for the Canadiens. He has 73 goals and 83 assists in 442 games with Montreal and the St. Louis Blues.

The move came with an audible gasp inside the First Niagra Center in Buffalo as Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the deal, which ends Shaw’s time in Chicago after five seasons with the organization that saw him help the team win two Stanley Cups.