FRISCO, Tex. – The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has acquired center Steve Bégin from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Doug Janik. He is scheduled to practice with the club tomorrow (noon at the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Frisco).

Steve Begin

“Steve is a gritty, honest player with a very strong work ethic,” said Co-General Manager Les Jackson. “He’s good on the penalty kill and he is a competitor in every sense of the word. We think he’ll be a very good addition to our group as we continue to fight toward the playoffs.”

Bégin, 30, has skated in 42 games with Montreal this season, recording six goals and four assists for 10 points with 27 penalty minutes. He led the Canadiens in hits for the months of November and December, and was fourth on the club in hits for the season (119).

The native of Trois-Riviéres, Quebec, has skated in 389 career NHL games with Calgary and Montreal, posting 46 goals and 38 assists for 84 points with 467 penalty minutes. The 6-foot, 187-pounder has also appeared in 23 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, all with the Canadiens, earning four helpers and 20 PIM. His most productive NHL season was in 2005-06 with Montreal, when he registered 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points and won the Jacques Beauchamp Molson Trophy as the Habs’ Unsung Hero.

Originally selected by Calgary in the second round (No. 40 overall) in the 1996 Entry Draft, Bégin won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as AHL Playoff MVP, scoring 17 points (10 goals, 7 assists) in 19 games to lead the Saint John Flames to the Calder Cup. He also skated for Team Canada at the 1998 World Junior Championships.

Pronunciation: bay-ZHIN