According to Renaud Lavoie, the Montreal Canadiens have placed Rene Bourque on waivers, clearly hoping that some other team will claim him and his $3.33M salary. It’s not clear whether the Canadiens would send Bourque to the AHL if he clears waivers, but it’s certainly a possibility. If the Canadiens do choose to send Bourque down, they would save $900K against the cap.
Bourque had a phenomenal playoffs last year, scoring eight times in 17 games, but has scored just one goal in his last 32 regular season games, and just three goals in his last 54. Bourque had been clearly working very hard in his 13 scoreless games this season, but the finish that he had earlier in his career has seemingly disappeared as the former sniper is about to turn 33 in December.
The emergence of Jiri Sekac likely made Bourque even more expendable, however if Bourque is claimed or sent down, look for a player like Sven Andrighetto or perhaps even Charles Hudon to earn their way onto the Canadiens by the end of the season.
