Canadiens acquire Merrill from Red Wings for 5th-round pick, prospect

The Montreal Canadiens have acquired defenseman Jon Merrill from the Detroit Red Wings for a 2021 fifth-round pick and forward prospect Hayden Verbeek, the team announced Sunday.

Merrill carries a cap hit of $925,000 and is an impending unrestricted free agent. He's put up only five points in 36 games in 2021 but is highly effective in his own end.

Jon Merrill, acquired by the Canadiens, has quietly been one of the league's most effective stay-at-home scoring chance-suppressing defencemen in the past two seasons. Was playing 2nd pair minutes for the Wings this year. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/lbbAnNxtXe

- JFresh (@JFreshHockey) April 11, 2021

The Canadiens have just over $1.6 million in deadline cap space remaining, according to CapFriendly. Montreal owns Philadelphia's fifth-round pick in 2021 and 11 selections overall.

Verbeek, 23, is an undrafted center. He's posted three points in seven AHL games with the Laval Rocket this season.

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