The Montreal Canadiens have officially put forward Michael Chaput on waivers a day after acquiring Nate Thompson from the Los Angeles Kings.
Canadiens place Michael Chaput on waivers.
DETAILS ➡ https://t.co/BDfytKLchY#GoHabsGo
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 12, 2019
The move was first reported on Monday afternoon by Cap Friendly and later confirmed by Eric Engels of Sportsnet.
The team added Chaput to the Waiver Non-Roster list on Monday in order to fit Thompson under the 23-man roster limit, leading to him being on Tuesday’s waiver wire. This mechanism is available to teams in the case of a player returning from injury or a player being acquired via trade, as was the case here.
Chaput spent the majority of the season at centre of Montreal’s fourth line after starting as the top-line centre for the Laval Rocket. In 32 games in Montreal he recorded five assists and a -4 rating, while in Laval he scored seven goals and added three assists for 10 points in 18 games.
Chaput signed a two-year two-way contract as an unrestricted free agent over the summer, and needs to clear waivers before being able to be assigned to the AHL’s Laval Rocket.
The Canadiens have to hope that Chaput would clear after losing Kenny Agostino, Nikita Scherbak, and Jacob de la Rose on waivers plus Michael McCarron to injury and Byron Froese to trade. Laval currently has four players who played in the ECHL at forward on their roster.
The move of Chaput, and earlier Agostino, spares Matthew Peca and Charles Hudon for the time being, however a further decision awaits when Paul Byron returns from his injury.
