As players get close to returning to the lineup, roster spots need to be created. The Habs took a step in that direction Wednesday as they placed Mathieu Perreault on waivers.
The 34-year-old signed with Montreal on the second day of free agency, inking a one-year, $950,000 contract. At the time, it looked like a low-risk, low-cost depth acquisition.
Unfortunately, things haven’t gone so well for Perreault. He has had a tough time on the injury front this season and has been a frequent healthy scratch as well. He has just three goals and two assists in 18 games this season and those three tallies came in the same game.
That made it unlikely that the Canadiens would be able to trade him for value at the trade deadline which made him a logical choice to waive, similar to Cedric Paquette over the weekend. If he isn’t claimed on Thursday, he’ll be sent to Laval and would be a candidate to be brought back up on Monday when rosters expand.
Meanwhile, Perreault being on waivers means that someone is nearing a return. Both Christian Dvorak and Jonathan Drouin have been skating with the team as has Tyler Pitlick so it would appear that one of these players will be ready to return on Thursday against Dallas.