Kings acquire Nate Schnarr from Montreal in exchange for Frederic Allard

Anotha One.

The LA Kings have acquired forward Nate Schnarr from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Frederic Allard.

Schnarr has spent his entire career to date in the American Hockey League, across three organizations. A 2017 draft selection of the Arizona Coyotes, Schnarr made his professional debut with the Tucson Roadrunners during the 2019-20 season, but was traded to New Jersey as a part of the deal that sent forward Taylor Hall to Arizona. After the better part of two seasons in the AHL in the Devils organization, Schnarr was traded to Montreal in March of last season in exchange for goaltender Andrew Hammond. Schnarr re-signed on a one-year, two-way contract with Montreal in July and is a restricted free agent at the end of the 2022-23 season.

The expectation is that Schnarr will be assigned to AHL-Ontario.

Instant Analysis
In many ways, this is a similar deal to how the Kings acquired Allard a season ago from Nashville. Last season, it was a swap of veteran players playing in the NHL with Allard coming to the Kings organization and forward Brayden Burke going the other way. Allard was later re-signed by the Kings over the summer. This season, it’s Allard going back to his native province of Quebec and Schnarr coming to the Kings. Schnarr will report to the AHL’s Ontario Reign, where he’ll join a forward group that has recently had to recall a few guys from the ECHL to fill lineup voids. Assume that Schnarr will help in that area.

I recall liking Schnarr’s game back when he was with Tucson and the Reign and Roadrunners seemingly played every other night early in the 2019-20 season. But that’s now more than three years ago, so take it for what you will. He’s 24 years old and in his fourth AHL season, so not really deemed to be a prospect anymore, but he’s not exactly long in the tooth either. We’ll see these deals often around the deadline, with perhaps better fits available for players organizationally speaking. With the depth the Kings have up front right now, not expecting this to impact the team at the NHL level immediately, but it’s another guy with experience who can help the AHL club and potentially contribute on a larger scale in the future.

From the team’s official release –

Schnarr, 24, has appeared in 27 American Hockey League (AHL) games with the Laval Rocket this season, earning seven points (3-4=7) and 12 penalty minutes (PIM). The 6-3, 202-pound forward has registered 75 points (29-46=75) with a plus-25 rating and 91 PIM in 166 career AHL games with Laval, Utica Comets, Binghamton Devils and Tucson Roadrunners.

A native of Waterloo, Ontario, Schnarr played parts of four seasons of junior hockey with the Guelph Storm, collecting 181 points (69-112=181) with a plus-10 rating and 119 PIM in 182 career Ontario Hockey League (OHL) games. Originally drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the third round (75th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft, Schnarr, along with current LA Kings defenseman Sean Durzi, won an OHL Championship with Guelph in 2019, posting 19 points (8-11=19) in 24 postseason contests.

Allard, 25, played in 35 games for the Ontario Reign this season, collecting seven points (2-5=7) and 30 PIM. The 6-1, 179-pound defenseman has registered 114 points (23-91=114) with a plus-46 rating and 162 PIM in 292 career AHL games with Ontario, Milwaukee Admirals and Chicago Wolves. A native of St. Sauveur, Quebec, Allard made his NHL debut with Nashville on March 13, 2021 vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning, going scoreless in 16:59 of ice time.

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