Major announcement from the Montreal Canadiens at 2 p.m. today? Two players targeted
Sunday will be an interesting day across the NHL as it will be the last day before the start of the season to place players on waivers. Players must have gone through the process by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, the submission deadline for the opening rosters of the league's 32 teams.
It will be interesting to see what the Habs will do by 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. Many questions remain unanswered as Martin St-Louis, Kent Hughes, and Jeff Gorton face tough decisions. As the coach mentioned after Saturday's game, it's not a bad thing:
The goaltender situation is the most intriguing to watch for the Habs. Putting Cayden Primeau on waivers is a risky move, as he was undoubtedly the best of the three goalies during this camp, based on the short sample we've seen. However, keeping him with the main squad and having three goalies in the city is not optimal, especially if you want to develop the young man.
Regarding the defensemen, many agree that Mattias Norlinder is now a member of the Habs. His camp, which was very good, proves that he belongs with the main squad.
This, however, raises the issue of who will be demoted to Laval. Justin Barron hasn't done anything noteworthy since the start of camp and deserves to start the season with the Rocket. Especially since he doesn't need to go through waivers to get there. The other defenseman to leave the main squad would be the newcomer Gustav Lindström. He will have to pass through waivers, but the chances of him being picked up by another team are very slim.
On offense, it might be tempting to place Joel Armia in the waiver process. The latter, costing $3.4M for another two years, brings nothing to the club's offense. It would, however, be surprising if the club's leadership made this decision.
Given this, we should expect Emil Heineman, even though he had a good camp, to start the campaign in Laval. He doesn't need to go through waivers, which greatly aids the decision. He will probably be joined by Jesse Ylonen or Michael Pezzetta, who will both need to pass through waivers.
Waiver predictions: Jesse Ylonen, Michael Pezzetta, and Gustav Lindström.
It's also worth noting that Kent Hughes wants to start the season under the salary cap to place Carey Price's salary on LTIR as soon as the season begins. He will therefore have to juggle salaries, at least for a day, to execute his plan.
Knowing the Habs' GM, it wouldn't be surprising if our theories are wrong and he surprises us with his decisions once again!
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 8 | 351 ANSWERS Major announcement from the Montreal Canadiens at 2 p.m. today? Two players targeted Do you believe that Cayden Primeau and Joel Armia will be placed on waivers? | ||
| Yes | 106 | 30.2 % |
| No | 31 | 8.8 % |
| Only Primeau | 16 | 4.6 % |
| Only Armia | 198 | 56.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
