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The Canadiens traded veteran centre Tomas Plekanec to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday in exchange for forward Kerby Rychel, defenceman Rinat Valiev and a second-round pick at the 2018 NHL Draft. The Canadiens also sent forward Kyle Baun, who had been playing for the AHL’s Laval Rocket, to Toronto in the deal.

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that the Canadiens will retain 50 per cent of the remaining salary-cap hit on Plekanec’s contract. The Canadiens now have four second-round picks at this year’s NHL Draft and nine picks overall.

Plekanec, who was selected by the Canadiens in the third round (71st overall) at the 2001 NHL Draft, spent 13 seasons with the team, missing only 17 games during that span. He ranks seventh on the Canadiens’ all-time list for games played with 981, during which he has scored 232 goals and added 373 assists for 605 points. The only players to play more games than Plekanec with the Canadiens are Henri Richard (1,256), Larry Robinson (1,202), Bob Gainey (1,160), Jean Béliveau (1,125), Claude Provost (1,005) and Andrei Markov (990). The Maple Leafs have 18 regular-season games remaining on the schedule, meaning Plekanec will finish the season with 999 career games if he plays in them all.