Diaz, 28, has registered one goal and 12 assists for 13 points, along with 12 penalty minutes in 52 games with the Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens this season. He recorded two points (one goal, one assist) in six games with Vancouver following his trade to the Canucks on February 3. Prior to his trade, he tallied 11 assists in 46 games with the Canadiens. Diaz ranked third among Montreal defensemen in assists and was tied for third among team defensemen in points at the time of his trade. He led Montreal with 37 blocked shots during the month of November, and has registered 107 blocked shots this season. Diaz tallied a power play assist and was credited with four blocked shots while skating in his 100th career NHL game on November 10 against the NY Islanders.
The 5-11, 197-pounder has skated in 134 career regular season games over three seasons with Montreal and Vancouver, registering five goals and 38 assists for 43 points, along with 48 penalty minutes. He established career-highs in games played (59), goals (three), assists (13), points (16), and penalty minutes (30) as a rookie during the 2011-12 season. Diaz made his NHL debut on October 6, 2011, at Toronto, and recorded his first career point with an assist on October 15 against Colorado.
Internationally, Diaz is a two-time Olympian (2010, 2014) as a member of Team Switzerland, and has represented Switzerland in the IIHF World Championships three times (2008, 2011, 2013). He captured a silver medal with Switzerland at the 2013 IIHF World Championships.
The Baar, Switzerland native was originally signed by Montreal as an undrafted free agent on March 13, 2011.
