Waivers: Canadiens Have a Chance to Claim Former Top Pick for Free
We have some action on the NHL waiver wire this Monday afternoon, and an interesting decision awaits Kent Hughes and the Canadiens. Given the Canadiens' current position in the standings, Hughes will be among the first to claim the available forward for free.
And it's a rather intriguing forward.
As reported by the excellent Chris Johnston and Elliotte Friedman, the Pittsburgh Penguins have just placed forward Jesse Puljujarvi on waivers.
He is therefore currently available for free.
Jesse Puljujarvi placed on NHL waivers: an option for the Montreal Canadiens?
It will be interesting to see the decision made by Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes in this case.
See the official confirmations:
Do you believe Puljujarvi can help the Montreal Canadiens?
Despite their recent winning streak, the Habs are still ranked 23rd in the NHL standings, giving them a top-10 priority to claim players.
Puljujarvi, 26, is a 6 foot 4, 216-pound forward who was drafted 4th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2016.
He has accumulated 126 points in 377 career NHL games, including 57 goals, and has a respectable 8 points in 21 games this season with the Penguins.
The Finnish forward is signed through the summer of 2025 at $800,000 per year.
Given all this, do you think Hughes should reunite the two Finnish towers, Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi?
The two were teammates when Finland won the 2016 world juniors where Puljujarvi was named tournament MVP. He led all players with 17 points in 7 games, while Laine finished with 13 points.
