Fifth overall choice: Kent Hughes and the Canadiens now have the opportunity to acquire a solid player through waivers

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Elias Edmonson
September 30, 2023 (6:56 PM)

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This Thursday, September 28 marked the opening of the waivers season in the NHL. Starting at 2 p.m. on this date, NHL teams could start cutting players who had to go through this system before heading to their AHL team.

Throughout the season, teams will be able to draw from the waiver pool to fill their roster. However, the selected players must remain in the NHL lineup of the organization and, if they are cut again, they must go back through waivers.

Given that the regular season has not yet started, the selection order, as mentioned in the collective agreement, is based on the last season's standings until the next November 1st. After this date, the current league standings will be the reference point for the selection order.

This means that the CH (Canadiens) will have the 5th pick until the beginning of November. This is a significant advantage when you consider the excellent success rate of the CH in recent years with their waiver selections (Paul Byron, Johnathan Kovacevic, and Samuel Montembeault, for example).

Not to mention the pleasant surprises that can suddenly become available early in the season when league teams have no choice, due to lack of space or cap room, but to cut promising talents.

Here is the complete selection order until the next November 1st:

1 - Anaheim Ducks
2 - Columbus Blue Jackets
3 - Chicago Blackhawks
4 - San Jose Sharks
5 - Montreal Canadiens
6 - Arizona Coyotes
7 - Philadelphia Flyers
8 - Washington Capitals
9 - Detroit Red Wings
10 - St. Louis Blues
11 - Vancouver Canucks
12 - Ottawa Senators
13 - Buffalo Sabres
14 - Pittsburgh Penguins
15 - Nashville Predators
16 - Florida Panthers
17 - Calgary Flames
18 - NY Islanders
19 - Winnipeg Jets
20 - Tampa Bay Lightning
21 - Seattle Kraken
22 - Minnesota Wild
23 - Los Angeles Kings
24 - NY Rangers
25 - Dallas Stars
26 - Colorado Avalanche
27 - Edmonton Oilers
28 - Vegas Golden Knights
29 - Toronto Maple Leafs
30 - New Jersey Devils
31 - Carolina Hurricanes
32 - Boston Bruins