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Updated October 11th

The Habs are one step closer to finalizing their season-opening roster as they assigned Michael McCarron to St. John’s on Monday while goaltender Mike Condon was claimed on waivers by Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

McCarron had a strong preseason with the Canadiens, scoring two goals while adding an assist in six games while averaging 13:44 per game. He also looked quicker and wasn’t tiring as quickly during his shifts which were concerns from last season. However, given his waiver exemption and the fact he wasn’t going to be in the top 12, it makes sense for the team to send him down; it’s better for him to play than sit.

Condon was a revelation in training camp last year and early in the season, stealing away the #2 goalie job from Dustin Tokarski. However, he struggled as the season progressed and as a result, the team added Al Montoya in free agency. He also didn’t help himself in the preseason, posting a 3.53 GAA and a .855 SV%. While the team was hopeful he’d clear and give them extra insurance in the AHL, instead he’ll suit up as the backup with Pittsburgh.  The Habs receive $75,000 from the Penguins as a waiver fee.

Defenceman Jeff Petry will start the season on injured reserve which brings the team down to the maximum roster size of 23 in advance of Tuesday’s 5:00 PM EST roster deadline. Unless any more moves are made between now and the start of the season, the opening roster will be as follows:

G (2) – Al Montoya, Carey Price

D (7) – Nathan Beaulieu, Alexei Emelin, Andrei Markov, Greg Pateryn, Zach Redmond, Mikhail Sergachev, Shea Weber

F (14) – Sven Andrighetto, Paul Byron, Daniel Carr, Phillip Danault, David Desharnais, Brian Flynn, Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, Artturi Lehkonen, Torrey Mitchell, Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, Alexander Radulov, Andrew Shaw

IR (1) – Jeff Petry

Petry was placed on IR retroactive to October 6th meaning that he would be eligible to be activated as soon as Saturday’s game in Ottawa.  Accordingly, while they may be under the limit for now, it would appear that another roster move would need to come sooner than later.