The Montreal Canadiens acquired veteran blueliner Sergei Gonchar from the Dallas Stars in exchange for winger Travis Moen on Tuesday.
Moen, 32, had zero points in 10 games with the Habs this season. The rugged checking forward has another left on his deal next year, which pays him $1.85 million.
"Travis is a proven forward that does all the gritty things needed to win," Stars general manager Jim Nill said in a statement. "He brings leadership and experience to our forward group and will be an important part of our penalty kill."
Moen has 125 points (56 goals, 69 assists) in 690 regular-season games with the Canadiens, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks.
Gonchar had to agree to waive his no-trade clause in order to allow the trade. According to a source, though, he has been looking for a change of scenery since the summer.
He had one assist in three games this season, missing the start of the season with a foot injury. He will be an unrestricted free agent July 1. He's earning $5 million this year although a source told ESPN.com that the Stars retained eight percent of that salary in the trade.
The 40-year-old defenseman has 798 points (219 goals, 579 assists) in 1,256 regular-season games since making his NHL debut in 1994-95.
He has also played for the Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators. Gonchar also represented Russia at four Olympic Games and won a Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2009.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
