Monday Update: All five players passed through waivers successfully and were assigned to Laval. They’ll join the 24 players sent down earlier Sunday to comprise the Rocket’s training camp roster in advance of their preseason action this week.
Sunday: Evidently, 25 cuts for the Habs weren’t quite enough for this round. On Sunday, Montreal put five players on waivers for the purpose of assignment to Laval.
Up front, Sean Farrell, Lucas Condotta, and Alex Belzile are among the 23 players on the waiver wire. Belzile has cleared several times in the past, both during his tenure with Montreal and over the last two years with New York. He had 56 points in 66 games with AHL Hartford last season but given that he’s 34 with very limited NHL action, he’s not at much risk to be claimed.
The same can be said for Condotta. While he has seen NHL action in each of the last three years, that spans just 11 games. Meanwhile, Laval’s captain is coming off a quiet year offensively that saw him notch just five goals in 63 games.
On the other hand, Farrell could be someone that teams take a look at. Things got off to a disastrous start for him with Laval last season but he was one of their best performers in the second half, finishing with 44 points in 64 games overall. This is his first time on the waiver wire and at 23, he’s young enough that some team might take a flyer on him.
Meanwhile, Marc Del Gaizo and Nathan Clurman are the blueliners who have been waived after signing two-way deals back in July in free agency. Del Gaizo played in 46 games with Nashville last season so he could be at some risk of being picked up. That said, the 25-year-old also cleared waivers three separate times in 2024-25 so it will all depend on if there’s a team that wants him as a seventh or eighth option now.
Clurman made his NHL debut last season with Pittsburgh but just had one appearance. He had 11 points in 31 AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton but he’s not known for his offensive potential; he’s a stay-at-home defender. Clurman, 27, cleared waivers last season with the Penguins in training camp and should be a relatively safe bet to clear here.