 Toronto management gave Picard little opportunity to show what he was capable of, sending him to his hometown Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Michel Larocque in March, 1981.In his hometown, the expectations were raised even higher and, as before, Picard, in his sensitivity, tried to do more than he could.In 1983, he was traded to the Winnipeg Jets and was paired with fellow defender Randy Carlyle, with whom he found an opportunity to play within his means.