Winnipeg Jets swap Steve Mason and Joel Armia against the Montreal Canadiens

The Winnipeg Jets cleared a cap by exchanging goaltender Steve Mason and forward Joel Armia against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Winnipeg Jets, heading to the free agency, hope to sign the Paul Stastny Center. They are also looking to give raises to some restricted freestyle players, such as defenseman Jacob Trouba. However, the Jets do not have a lot of ceiling space. They eliminated by exchanging goaltender Steve Mason and forward Joel Armia, as well as two future draft picks, against defenseman Simon Bourque of the Montreal Canadiens

By doing this, the Jets save at least $ 4.1 million, the cost of Mason . Armia is a restricted free agent and should receive at least $ 1 million. This should free up enough money so that the Jets can keep their guys. It would not be surprising to hear Winnipeg announce that they have re-signed Stastny before the July 1st deadline.

The Montreal Canadiens get an extra goalie at Mason. Considering that they already have Carey Price and Antti Niemi, it would not be surprising that they decided to buy back his contract. The Colorado Avalanche did the same thing to defender Brooks Orpik after acquiring it with goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer

. In addition, the Canadiens receive Armia, who has turned into a quality NHL forward. Last season, with the Jets, he scored 12 career goals and 29 points in 79 games. Armia should help Canadians get better production from their last six forwards. At 25, he has the potential to improve a little

. Choosing two more draft picks, even if it's a last-minute pick, is an added bonus for Canadians. These are two other lottery tickets that Montreal can add to its list of future draft picks.

Bourque is a defenseman who was drafted by the Canadiens in the sixth round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. In his first season in the AHL last year, he had three points in 46 games with 28 penalty minutes.

This is purely a pay dump for the Jets. They now have enough room to either extend Stastny and Trouba, or to shoot something else.