It appears that Michael McCarron has recovered from his groin injury that he sustained early in training camp as on Wednesday, the Habs announced that they have placed him on waivers. He cleared on Thursday and was sent to Laval of the AHL.
The 24-year-old cleared waivers last season at the end of training camp and was assigned to Laval. He got off to a bit of a tough start with the Rocket before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury and as a result, he played in just 32 games last season, scoring seven goals while adding 14 assists.
Considering how long he has been off and the increased demand for speed on a lot of fourth lines around the league, there wasn’t much risk running McCarron through waivers. He’ll now rejoin the Rocket where he’ll likely slot in somewhere in their middle six and with their current depth down the middle, he may have to start on the right wing. It’s worth noting that he doesn’t have enough games played yet to qualify for veteran status so his potential addition to Laval won’t cause any issues there.
Clearly, the Habs still see something in McCarron which is why they tendered him a qualifying offer last summer. A 2013 first-round pick, they certainly don’t want to give up on someone drafted that high that early but presumably, this is most likely his final chance to make an impact with the Canadiens. That opportunity will begin back with Laval.