Canadiens trade Smith-Pelly to Devils for left-winger Stefan Matteau

MONTREAL – It will be up to Stefan Matteau to show the Montreal Canadiens he belongs in the NHL.

The Canadiens sent winger Devante Smith-Pelly to New Jersey for Matteau, the Devil’s 2012 first-round draft pick, just ahead of the 3 p.m. ET trade deadline Monday.

The six-foot-one 215-pound Matteau has spent time in the American Hockey League but had one goal in 20 games for the Devils this season. The son of former NHL forward Stephane Matteau has three goals and two assists in 44 career NHL games.

“Things didn’t work out for him in New Jersey obviously because (otherwise) you don’t move a young former first rounder after such a short time,” Bergevin said in San Jose, where the Canadiens were to play the Sharks on Monday night. “It’ll be up to him to seize the opportunity to become a regular NHL player.”

Rather than go to AHL St. John’s, Matteau is to hook up with the Canadiens on a four-game road trip that continues Wednesday in Anaheim, Calif.

“It wasn’t necessarily that it didn’t work out but that the team was doing well and I didn’t get to play as much as I wanted,” Matteau said on a conference call. “But that’s behind me.

“I want to concentrate on playing for the Canadiens now.”

Montreal acquired Smith-Pelly ahead of last year’s trade deadline from Anaheim for forward Jiri Sekac. But Smith-Pelly became expendable when the Canadiens claimed tough winger Mike Brown off waivers from San Jose earlier in the day.

Brown, 30, has 18 goals, 16 assists and 751 penalty minutes in 393 NHL games with Vancouver, Anaheim, Toronto, Edmonton and San Jose.

Bergevin wanted Brown to bring a certain “comfort level” to a roster of mainly young players as the Canadiens, currently out of a playoff position, play out the final 20 regular-season games.

And he admitted his team was lacking in grit this season.

“It’s not that you promote fighting but you want guys to stand up and I believe Mike Brown will bring that to the team,” he said. “I want to be a team that’s fast and hard to play against.

“You don’t have to be six foot two. You just have to be able to play through adversity. At times this year I was disappointed in that.”

Bergevin made his main deal Friday, sending veterans Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischman to Chicago for forward Phillip Danault and a 2018 second-round pick.

“He’s relentless worker,” Bergevin said of Danault, a checking centre. “He’s like a hound dog.

“He’s always on the puck and he has decent skills. To me he was the key guy in that transaction.”

Smith-Pelly, 23, had six goals and six assists in 46 games for Montreal this season. He scored in a 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in his final game for the Canadiens on Saturday night.

In 195 career NHL games, he has 21 goals and 34 assists.

Smith-Pelly was in tears when he spoke to the Montreal media after practice.

“I thought I fit in perfectly with this group,” he said. “It’s tough.

“I really loved playing here. I’ll miss it.”