Ducks trade former first-round pick to Canadiens in prospect swap

The Canadiens and Ducks have exchanged forward prospects Jan Mysak and Jacob Perreault, both teams announced. It’s a one-for-one swap of U-22 prospects whose development has stalled with their respective minor-league clubs.

Perreault, 21, is a Montreal native and was a first-round pick of the Ducks in 2020 after scoring 39 goals and 70 points in 59 games with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting. Concerningly, his production has declined after a strong rookie season with AHL San Diego in 2020-21 (17 points in 27 games), and he’s tallied seven goals and 18 points in 31 games this season with a -3 rating. He made his NHL debut in January 2022, but has not seen major league action since.

The son of former Canadien Yanic Perreault and the older brother of Rangers prospect Gabe Perreault, Jacob is a natural right-winger. He still has one season remaining on his entry-level contract with a cap hit of $863.3K, so he won’t be a restricted free agent until the summer of 2025.

Unlike Perreault, Mysak can shift to center. The 21-year-old Czech forward was a second-round pick by Montreal in 2020 and had the rare experience of immediately playing pro hockey. Despite being drafted out of a Canadian junior league, he was permitted to suit up for the AHL’s Laval Rocket in 2020-21 because the OHL had paused game action due to COVID. There, he notched two goals in 22 games before returning to the OHL the following year, where he tallied 34 goals and 64 points in 61 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs en route to a Memorial Cup appearance. He’s on an opposite trajectory to Perreault – slowly heating up in the minors with 20 points in 48 games for AHL Laval this year after recording just nine in 40 games last season.

Mysak is also in the second season of his entry-level deal and will be an RFA in 2025. His cap hit is slightly lower at $828.3K, but as both players are assigned to the minors at the time of the trade, the swap has no salary cap impact for either team.