I'm not a fan of giving away a 1st round pick for a guy who :
1- Won't put us over the top right now
2- Will need to be re-signed next year, and will join two other dmen paid long term in their 30s

He's signed through next year too and I respectfully disagree about him not being able to help you get to the top.

this isn't roman josi bud. he's a clear upgrade over chiarot, but not by much.

I think Ekholm will put us almost at the top, and be welling to highly pay for him, but I wouldn’t extend him after is current deal. So Struble + 1st + another small piece ( not Fleury ), for 2 runs with Ekholm seems worth it.

I forgot Chiarot has put up consistant 30-40 point seasons while being beyond solid defensively the last 7 years.......

Think you just have to look at what the Leafs gave up to get Jake Muzzin who improved their d-core pretty well.
You have to give to get, and Ekholm is a great defenceman who could easily slot into MTL's top 4. Would be a great partner for Weber and will definitely put up more offence than Chiarot ever will. Heck he could even be used in 3 on 3 OT sometimes..
Sure he's 31, but he can still produce, has a ton of playoff experience and will help steady the ship until the next round of young defencemen (Norlinder, Romanov, Harris) are ready to jump in.

You're right about the Muzzin comparison, as the Predators are likely going to get a similar package. However, the Leafs had a more urgent need at defense than we currently do. It was THE missing piece. Ekholm would sure be an improvement over what we have, but right now the Canadiens are not in position to give up any valuable futures for an LD, unless it's one similar to Ekholm, but 5 to 6 years younger.

if chiarot played with ryan ellis or roman josi, im sure he'd be putting up 20 to 30 points as well, bud.