HabsWorld.net --
After clearing unconditional waivers on Sunday, the Habs officially terminated the contract of prospect Martin Reway, making him an unrestricted free agent.
His release was an expected outcome after he left Laval on Thursday to ponder his playing future. The team had been easing him back into the lineup by not playing him in back-to-back situations but he was still struggling to keep up with the play, especially at the defensive end. All in all, he leaves the Rocket with a pair of assists along with six PIMS and a -5 rating in five AHL games.
Laval GM Larry Carriere (also an Assistant GM for the Canadiens) released the following statement:
“Head coach Sylvain Lefebvre, Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin and myself had a meeting with Martin following the game on October 25. We discussed some options, and we advised Martin that we were totally dedicated to continue working with him to help regain his physical condition and remain with the Laval Rocket.
“We agreed to give Martin time to reflect, and he made the decision to return home. At that point, we mutually agreed that terminating his contract was the best option for both parties. We wish Martin the best of luck in the future.”
The Habs have no lingering obligations to him, similar to the situation with Mark Streit earlier in the season. They’re also down to 45 contracts which will give GM Marc Bergevin some flexibility to add a bit more depth on the farm potentially.
All of a sudden, depth is quickly becoming a concern in Laval. They’re already without Michael McCarron and Nikita Scherbak (who’s now injured) on recall to Montreal, have injuries to Jeremy Gregoire and Markus Eisenschmid, and are still in a spot where they have to sit a veteran every night while Reway is now out of the picture as well. As a result, their bottom-six forward group consisted of five players on minor league contracts on Friday in Rochester. Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a move made before too long to add some help at the AHL level.
