Jeff Gorton probably made the steal of the year this season in the NHL
When the Canadiens claimed forward Rem Pitlick off waivers on January 12, most hockey fans in Quebec had no idea who he was.
Left unprotected by the Minnesota Wild, he still had 11 points in 20 games so far this season. We expected to see Dominique Ducharme, the head coach of the Canadiens at that time, use it sporadically while waiting for the return to play of certain regulars.
But almost two months later, we can say that it is a real steal by Jeff Gorton.
Pitlick has been producing at a totally unexpected rate since his arrival in Montreal.
The 24-year-old forward tallied 13 points, including five goals in 21 games with the Canadiens. If we transposed his average points per game over a season of 82 games, that would give him a season of about 50 points. Moreover, since the arrival of Martin St-Louis as head coach, we are talking about eight points in 12 games.
Still not bad for a player claimed on waivers. Some are even talking about the steal of the year in the NHL this season, do you agree?
What is most surprising in his case is that St-Louis does not hesitate to use him in every situations, whether on 5v5, on power plays and to kill penalties during PK.
Is Pitlick mixing things up with the Canadiens and could he have the same kind of impact as a Paul Byron?
We recall that Byron had also been claimed on waivers in October 2015. The latter has become a regular in the formation, in addition to also becoming the assistant to the captain since 2018.
One thing is certain, it is that for the moment, Pitlick will be quite difficult to scratch when all the regulars are back.
