Montreal Canadiens Make Surprise Cut, Place Two Players On Waivers

With the opening of the regular season just around the corner, the Montreal Canadiens have announced the latest rounds of cuts from training camp.

There were still 29 players remaining at camp, though it should be noted that both Christian Dvorak (week-to-week) and Chris Wideman (out indefinitely) are currently injured.

Prior to today’s news, the most recent round of cuts included two of their top defensive prospects. 2023 first-round pick David Reinbacher was loaned to his NL team, EHC Kloten, whereas 2020 first-round pick Logan Mailloux was loaned to the Laval Rocket.

It’s worth noting that Reinbacher scored immediately upon his return to the NL, though his empty-net goal is less important than the minutes he’ll receive while playing on Kloten’s top pairing.

Final Montreal Canadiens Training Camp Cuts

The following players were cut from the training camp roster by the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday:

• Joel Armia
• Gustav Lindstrom

Both players require waivers, which means we will have to wait until Monday at 2 p.m. ET to see if they clear.

Sending Armia to the waiver wire comes as a surprise, even though you’d be hard-pressed to argue that he deserved a roster spot. Armia carries a $3.4 million salary cap hit. Teams are allowed to bury up to $1.15 million in the AHL, which means Armia will still account for a $2.25 million cap hit this season.

NHL CBA Waiver-Wire Priority List Refresher

For now, the off-season priority list is locked in and will give teams that finished lower in the standings last year the first opportunity to claim a player that is placed on waivers.

For example, the Montreal Canadiens finished 28th last year, therefore they are the team with the fifth highest priority on the NHL’s waiver wire list. Teams have 24 hours to make a claim.

The off-season list will remain in place until November 1, when it will switch from using last season’s standings to this year’s standings to determine priority.

Simply put, the Canadiens will maintain the fifth-best position on the waiver wire priority list for at least a month. The Anaheim Ducks will maintain the No.1 spot on the list until November 1, as well, despite claiming Lassi Thomson from the Senators.

To get a better understanding of the NHL’s waiver wire priority process, you can click here.

Here is the current NHL waiver-priority list, which is valid until November 1:

The Montreal Canadiens will be in action on Wednesday, as their regular season gets underway on October 11 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The last time these two teams met in the preseason the Canadiens emerged with a 5-4 comeback win in overtime. The puck drop for the season-opening game on Wednesday is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.