So basically it would be this year all over again, when Cole played about 5 good games and the team still won plenty of games despite him being a non-factor a lot of nights.
I admit my take on the trade is highly subjective. Personnaly, I don't think it would leave the Habs in the same shape as they are right now.
1- I think Habs were a better team on the ice with Cole than with Ryder. The only thing Ryder is doing better is scoring on the PP. For the rest of this shortened season, it will barely mean 5-6 more goal than Cole on the PP, and only 1 or 2 of these goal would be diffrence maker. But Ryder won't be a calming presence for our youngsters and will make plenty of mistakes in his own zone. Moreover, the Habs lose their only true power forward that was rushibng the net in 5 vs 5 situations. Max Pac isn't there yet, he doesn't rush the net with the same autorithy. Cole was playing better the last 4-5 games.
2- Because of point #1, I don't think Habs will want to re-sign Ryder next year. So it becomes a poker move to try to sign a UFA that could be not as good as Cole.
but like I said, I don't think it is a bad trade at all. Cap space, PP sniper and a 3rd round pick are all good assets. I just state subjectively that the final outcome is a poker move.