Big left-handed defenseman claimed on waivers: Hughes and the Canadiens have confirmation that Kovacevic would be claimed if he was put on waivers

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Elias Edmonson
January 3, 2024 (3:04 PM)

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We just had an announcement regarding the NHL waivers that says a lot about the current market.

Veteran defenseman Jaycob Megna, made available for free yesterday by the Seattle Kraken, has just been claimed by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Wow.

Yesterday, we learned that goalies Ilya Samsonov and Eric Comrie were overlooked on waivers, but today, a 31-year-old defenseman who has played 141 career NHL games (25 points) has been claimed.

So we see that cheap defensemen are in high demand, much more so than goalies.

We can forget waivers for Kovacevic and Harris

Especially because of Jayden Struble's feats (to keep him up), and because many want to see Arber Xhekaj back with the Montreal Canadiens, some have suggested risking placing a player like Johnatan Kovacevic on waivers.

Well, we can now forget about that.

Knowing today that Jaycob Megna was quickly claimed (by Chicago), be absolutely sure that Kovacevic would be too.

So he may even have a surprising trade value.

It will be interesting to watch, because Kent Hughes will eventually have to make very big choices in defense, especially if he wants to bring Xhekaj back into the CH lineup. (and especially when Lane Hutson arrives)

Names will have to suffer.