Edited Jan. 14 at 7:04 p.m.
Quoting: Leemer
You want secondary scoring from your 3rd line and Monahan supplies that as well as one of the better face off percentages. Who cares about a minor defensive shortcoming?
This trade though is an overpay - Monahan on his own with the cap hit is worth either Lambert or a first round pick but not both. Kovacevic is worth a 3rd round pick based on the odds of a mid to late 3rd rounder playing 45 games in the nhl
Yes, you want secondary scoring from your bottom six, but Monahan doesn't supply that. He's awful at even strength scoring with only 8 even strength points. Monahan can only produce when given PP1 time and no playoff team wants Monahan on their PP.
You're wrong about defensive shortcomings though, that's an absolute requirement for a bottom 6 player. It may not be a priority in Montreal, but to be a playoff team you need to have your bottom six play good defensive hockey. Lowry produces more even strength offense than Monahan at 3C while being at least 10 times better defensively, so Monahan has no shot at 3C at all.
It's unlikely any GM is desperate enough to throw away a 1st on a continually injured PP specialist, but maybe. As long as it isn't Winnipeg, it's all good.
I'll be surprised if anyone gives up more than a 2nd a year or two out or a C/D prospect. There's just no comparables that demonstrate that Monahan is worth more. He won't be a player teams want, he'll be a player someone might have to settle for.