Blues Acquire D'Agostini From Montreal In Late Night Deal

The St. Louis Blues have acquired forward Matt D'Agostini from the Montreal Canadians in exchange for prospect winger Aaron Palushaj, according to James Mirtle of The Globe & Mail.

The 23-year-old D'Agostini had struggled in 40 games with the Canadiens this season, scoring just two goals and two assists. He's not an extremely potent scorer as it is, but when compared to last season's 12 goal, 53 game output, it's a significant drop off. D'Agostini has a two-way contract, meaning he can shift between the AHL and NHL without having to clear waivers, and his cap hit comes in at a cheap $500,000. He'll be a restricted free agent after this season, though.

Apparently, the Blues feel that they can help D'Agostini turn into a solid NHL player, because the organization was pretty high on the guy they gave away to get him. Palushaj, 20, played two seasons at the University of Michigan before making the jump to the professional ranks.

This year is his first full year with the AHL's Peoria Rivermen, where he's notched four goals and 17 assists in 44 games. It's assumed that he'll report to Montreal's AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Here's what Hockey's Future has to say about Palushaj:

Palushaj boasts a good all-around game. He can snipe goals with his quick shooting, and his stickhandling and playmaking abilities are also strong. He doesn't mind physical play, willing to dig in the corners to win the puck.