The Montreal Canadiens have placed Nikita Scherbak on waivers.
Scherbak (MON) on waivers
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 1, 2018
The first-round pick of the Canadiens in 2014, Scherbak played 29 games in the NHL, producing five goals and two assists. The majority of his time in the organization was spent in the American Hockey League, where he had 95 points in 145 games for two different clubs.
Scherbak did not play a single game for the Canadiens this season, as the team deemed was not going to be one of the 12 forwards to dress on a given night, yet the risk of losing him on waivers was high. As we get set to begin the third month of the season, the club has decided to make room on the NHL roster by removing him, and that means exposing him to waivers in an attempt to assign him to the AHL.
Possessing plenty of offensive skill, the chance is high that he will be claimed in the next 24 hours. The worst team in the league gets priority for a claim, so the offence-starved Los Angeles Kings will have the first shot at him, with any of the other 30 teams being able to make a claim.
In the unlikely event that he does clear, he would be able to join the Laval Rocket and help their offence get into gear. If he did clear, however, he would become more enticing as a trade piece, so no matter how you slice it, it seems Scherbak’s time in the organization may be soon coming to an end.
