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Erik Cole knew it was coming.With two years remaining on his contract after this season at a salary cap hit of $4.5 million a year, Cole knew the Montreal Canadiens would one day need to trade him with some of their younger players up for new deals before his expired.Michael RyderRight Wing - MTLGOALS: 6 | ASST: 8 | PTS: 14SOG: 42 | +/-: 4But it was also the length of his deal that made Cole so attractive to the Dallas Stars.Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin swung his first major trade Tuesday when he sent Cole to the Stars in exchange for former Canadien Michael Ryder and Dallas' third-round pick at the 2013 NHL Draft.Cole had to waive his limited no-trade clause in order for the deal to happen, and after discussing it with his wife, he decided Dallas was a situation that was a good fit for him under the circumstances."It seemed to me it was kind of a situation where if it's not this trade,Air Jordan 13 Blue Grey White, then over the next few years they were going to have to find a way to move that money," Cole said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday evening. "Marc [Bergevin] and I had a discussion about it. It was either going to happen now, or it would be this summer or next season or whenever. There's a great opportunity for me in Dallas and there's a player there that I played with for many years in Carolina in Ray Whitney."Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk said the term left on Cole's contract and the fact he plays more of a north-south, banging style than Ryder does made the trade appetizing to him, especially since the Stars had three third round picks in the upcoming draft so parting with one was less painful than usual."We want to be in a position to transition our younger players and put them in roles where they can be successful and comfortable and then expand into more prominent roles," Nieuwendyk said. "I think the two-year term with Erik allows us to put some of our younger players in better positions where they can be successful and help that transition."Bergevin did mention that Cole's contract and the money left on it was a factor in acquiring Ryder,Nike Free 5.0 Pink, who is in the final year of a two-year contract with a cap hit of $3.5 million. But Bergevin also insisted that this was a "hockey decision" and that he expects Ryder to help a Canadiens power play that has been struggling of late."Nothing against Erik,Air Jordan 11 Black Red White," Bergevin said, "but this is a guy who fills a need.""There's a great opportunity for me in Dallas and there's a player there that I played with for many years in Carolina in Ray Whitney." -- Erik Cole on his trade to DallasCole was coming off a career season after being signed to a four-year, $18 million contract as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2011 by the Canadiens previous GM Pierre Gauthier. He scored a career-high 35 goals last season with 61 points, which als