The waiver wire is offering a few intriguing names at just the right time, but the Canadiens won’t be first in line.
Georgii Merkulov, Jack Ahcan and Kurtis MacDermid are all on waivers, with Merkulov standing out as the most notable option. He’s a 26-year-old left-shot center listed at 5-foot-11 and 174 pounds, and while his NHL resume is thin - one point in 11 games, all with Boston - his AHL work has turned heads.
That production is hard to ignore. In Providence, Merkulov put up 61 points in 70 games last season, including 24 goals, after recording 54 points in 59 games in 2024-25.
For Montreal, the fit is obvious enough. The Canadiens are dealing with the absence of Nick Suzuki, their leading scorer with 12 points in nine games, and they could use help down the middle. Oliver Kapanen has stepped into Suzuki’s spot on the top line, but he has been held scoreless in three games.
Ahcan is another name on the board. The 29-year-old Nashville defenseman has one point in three games and carries an $875,000 salary cap hit. MacDermid, meanwhile, could attract attention too, given his reputation as one of the NHL’s toughest enforcers.
Two players who were placed on waivers yesterday were already claimed: Daemon Hunt was picked up by Nashville from the Wild, and Washington claimed Jack St. Ivany from Winnipeg. That leaves Winnipeg in an even tougher spot ahead of tonight’s game against Montreal, with the Jets losing a defenseman before the matchup.
The Canadiens and Jets meet tonight at 7 p.m. in the Heritage Classic, with Montreal sitting at 5-3-2 and Winnipeg at 4-3-3.
Waiver priority is set by reverse standings order, so Montreal would not have the first shot at any claim. Still, with Kent Hughes willing to explore every avenue, Merkulov stands out as the kind of no-cost move worth serious consideration.
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Johnston also noted there is at least some optimism around Larkin being open to thinking about Montreal, even if a move does not appear close right now. His no-trade list reportedly does not include Canadian clubs, which keeps the Canadiens in the frame as they look for a way to address their depth issues without waiting for the market to solve itself. For now, it is more a reason to watch than a reason to expect action, but it is still a notable shift for a team that badly needs answers at center. [Read more 🡒]
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Pierre LeBruns comparison only sharpens that reality when Simon Edvinsson enters the conversation. The young Detroit defenseman is viewed as a top-four piece with plenty of upside, and any trade for him would require a major haul, the kind that makes Montreals Dobson package look less like an outlier and more like the starting point for a bigger discussion. [Read more 🡒]
Brendan Gallagher Still Sounds Hurt Ahead Of Canadiens Reunion
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Now with the Canucks and off to a difficult start there, Gallagher still stopped short of holding any grudge against his old club. Even so, the tone of his comments suggests the emotions from that spring never fully faded, and a fresh matchup with Montreal figures to bring some of that back to the surface. For the Canadiens, it is one more reminder that the aftermath of those playoff calls is still lingering, even if both sides have moved on in the standings. [Read more 🡒]