HabsWorld.net -- 

Still missing several forwards, the Habs added some depth up front on Wednesday as they claimed Rem Pitlick off waivers from Minnesota.

It’s the second time this season that the 24-year-old winger has been picked up off the waiver wire as he started out with Nashville before the Wild picked him up early in the season.  Pitlick actually had been relatively productive with Minnesota with six goals and five assists in 20 games, albeit with an unsustainable 46.2 shooting percentage.  Despite that, he logged less than 10 minutes a game and only played more than nine minutes once in his last six contests as he fell out of favour with their coaching staff.

Pitlick has been productive in the minors before but hasn’t really had a lengthy NHL opportunity as 20 of his 31 career games were played this season.  With Montreal out of the mix in terms of the playoffs and still missing several players between injuries and COVID protocol, they’ll be in a spot to potentially give him an extended look.  He’s one of those players whose style of play best fits in the top six but Pitlick hasn’t shown that he can play in that role in the NHL.  Now the Habs will try to get that out of him.

If his last name sounds familiar, it’s because his brother Rhett is currently one of Montreal’s prospects.  The Canadiens selected him back in the fifth round in 2019 and he’s just starting out his college career at the University of Minnesota.

Pitlick has a cap hit of just under $918,000 after accepting his qualifying offer for the second straight season.  However, with his lack of NHL playing time to this point, he’ll be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer.

Pitlick’s Stats: