How Waiver Eligibility Will Impact Canadiens Projected Lineups

Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes has been busy over the course of the last month.

He drafted and signed David Reinbacher to his entry-level contract, secured Alex Newhook’s services for four years, and has re-signed every player he’s interested in keeping in the organization, with the exception of Jesse Ylonen.

The hasty speed at which he’s accomplished his work has allowed us to take a closer look at the potential projected lineup for the Canadiens heading into 2023-24, as well as the current salary cap situation.

MUST READ: Updated Projected Canadiens Lineup And Salary Cap Maneuvrability (2023-24)

But as we discuss the merits of having various players in the lineup, we must keep in mind that certain players will have to go through waivers if they’re to be assigned to the AHL, whereas others will not.

CBA Rule 13.4

Waivers are rather complicated, and to get a better idea of the intricacies involved you can check the NHL and NHLPA’s Memorandum Of Understanding by clicking here.

But to simplify things, we can use the table produced by the MOU to quickly verify which Canadiens players will be eligible for waivers this season, and which players will be exempt.

Exempt From Waivers

In total, 20 players who signed contracts for the upcoming season will be exempt from having to go through waivers:

Justin Barron, Owen Beck, Jakub Dobes, Sean Farrell, Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Emil Heineman, Riley Kidney, Logan Mailloux, Filip Mesar, Jan Mysak, Mattias Norlinder, David Reinbacher, Joshua Roy, Xavier Simoneau, Juraj Slafkovsky, Jayden Struble, William Trudeau, and Arber Xhekaj.

That means players such as Jesse Ylonen and Johnathan Kovacevic, who some have projected to start the season in the Laval Rocket, will have to pass through waivers and will be made available to all 31 other NHL teams for free.

It could also lead to players such as Arber Xhekaj and Justin Barron starting the season in the AHL as the team attempts to find more ice time by trading some of their veterans.

On the flip side, the Montreal Canadiens will have the fifth-best waiver priority until November, which means they should have several opportunities to add yet another useful player to the lineup in the same manner as which they acquired Kovacevic from the Jets in 2022-23.

MUST READ: Montreal Canadiens Off-Season Waiver Priority Locked In