The Canadiens traded one problem child for another yesterday, sending Guillaume Latendresse and his unfulfilled potential to the Minnesota Wild for Benoit Pouliot, who arrives in Montreal with even more unfulfilled potential.

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Another problem child? The scouting report on latest Canadiens' addition Benoit Pouliot, at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, is that he possesses largely untapped skills and that he could have a better work ethic.

Photograph by : GRAIG ABLE, NHL1 VIA GETTY IMAGES

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The trade came several hours after Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin and assistant coach Perry Pearn expressed their frustration over Latendresse's play.

Pearn, who is known as a first-class teacher, took Latendresse by the shoulders during the Canadiens' practice yesterday morning at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard and positioned him in front of the net in what was probably the last attempt to convince Latendresse that he had to take advantage of his size and his good hands.

Martin, who may or may not have known that the wheels had already been set in motion to deal Latendresse, said there was some hope that the 22-year-old could turn things around.

"Like any player, you have to put the effort in, you gotta be willing to pay the price and do the things that should be your strength," Martin said after practice. "With his size and his hands, he should be at the net, be in the traffic and work hard. When you do those things, you usually get success."

It's a lesson that fell on deaf ears during Latendresse's three-plus seasons in Montreal. While Latendresse scored 46 goals in his first three seasons - for those who don't believe that Latendresse belonged in the NHL, that's five more than Joe Thornton scored in his first three seasons - there was a feeling he could have done much more.

This season, he had two goals and one assist in 23 games and was a plus-4. In an interview with CKAC after the trade was announced, Latendresse joined the chorus of his supporters who said he wasn't given a fair chance.

"You come in and you're on the second line, you make a mistake and you're on the fourth line," he said.

The reality is that Martin gave Latendresse, his good friend Maxim Lapierre and Matt D'Agostini an opportunity to establish themselves as the third line during the first 12 games of the season, and they fell far short of expectations. After D'Agostini went out with a concussion, Latendresse and Lapierre played three games with Tomas Plekanec.

The expectation now is that both Pouliot and Latendresse will benefit from a change in scenery.

Pouliot was the fourth overall choice in the 2005 draft - Latendresse was the 45th pick the same year - and has been a bigger disappointment.

He has nine goals after 65 NHL games with two goals and two assists in 14 games this season.

"I think I can help the team speed-wise and I have good size at 6-foot-3, but I'm the heaviest guy," said Pouliot, who weighs 200 or about 35 pounds less than Latendresse.

The scouting report on Pouliot notes that he possesses largely untapped skills and that he could have a better work ethic.

Fans in Montreal will have to wait to see those skills. Pouliot won't arrive here until late this afternoon, but he wouldn't have played against the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight (7:30 p.m., RDS, CJAD Radio-800), even if he had caught an earlier flight because he's been on the sidelines for the past week with a wrist injury and a week of two away from returning.