In preparation for their first practice following their bye week on Thursday afternoon, the Montreal Canadiens recalled defenceman Karl Alzner according to the AHL’s transaction page.
Karl Alzner recalled from Laval. #Habs
— Andrew Zadarnowski (@AZadarski) January 31, 2019
The move was expected as the team never formally announced him being sent down. It was effectively a “paper transaction” – a transaction done for administrative purposes without needing the player to report. In this case, the Canadiens have two extra days to send him back down without needing waivers but that seems unlikely at this point.
They would have also saved on their daily cap space, but given the space they have the move was not really necessary.
The Canadiens practice at 2:00 p.m. at the Bell Sports Complex on Thursday, the earliest they can following the CBA-mandated bye week. Players throughout the team took the week – plus the All-Star break – to vacation and reset ahead of the stretch run. Alzner, due to not reporting to the AHL, also got to enjoy the week off.
