With the Canadiens needing an extra body on the back end for their upcoming California road trip, they recalled Jayden Struble from Laval. To make room, Rafael Harvey-Pinard was placed on injured reserve.
Struble was a second-round pick of the Habs back in 2019 (46th overall) but is only in his first professional season now. He wrapped up his college career last season and signed with Laval for the stretch run. This season, Struble has acquitted himself quite well with the Rocket (aside from a three-game suspension he served last week) and has contributed more offensively than expected, notching six points in a dozen games.
The Habs indicated that Arber Xhekaj will not be travelling with the team on the trip (so he’s the next logical IR candidate if a move needs to be made over the next week) so Struble’s presence on the roster will give them seven healthy blueliners; while Jordan Harris didn’t practice today, he will travel with the team.
Harvey-Pinard has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury. He’s also not going on the trip, making him an easy choice to go on IR. The Habs are able to back-date the placement to last week so he’ll have served more than enough time on there once he’s cleared to return. With these moves, the team is back to a full 23-man roster.