Nicolas Beaudin’s stay in the Canadiens organization is over. The team announced Sunday that it was placing the defenseman on waivers in an effort to terminate his contract.
The Habs specifies that the decision was taken “by mutual agreement”.
The 31 other teams have until Monday 2 p.m. to claim Beaudin. If no one raises their hand, the CH can then terminate the contract.
Beaudin, 24, joined the CH in October 2022, acquired in a minor transaction for Cam Hillis. However, he never played with the Canadian.
In 39 games last season with the Laval Rocket, he amassed 25 points. Used sporadically this season, he only played 16 matches, none of which between December 16 and January 10, notably because the Rocket allowed him to participate in the Spengler Cup in Switzerland.
Beaudin was unable to cement his position on the blue line. In Laval we find hopefuls Logan Mailloux, Justin Barron and William Trudeau, in addition to veterans Tobie Bisson, Brady Keeper and Olivier Galipeau. This is without forgetting Mattias Norlinder, difficult to classify in one or other of these categories. It won’t get better in the coming weeks, if prospects Lane Hutson and David Reinbacher arrive in the organization once the season is over in the NCAA and in Europe.
Beaudin is a former 1 picker round, drafted at 27e rank by the Blackhawks. He has 22 games of NHL experience, all with Chicago.
His departure will provide additional flexibility to the Habs for the end of the season regarding the limit of 50 contracts that an organization can have. Once Beaudin’s contract is taken off the books, Montreal will have 45 contracts. This flexibility could help Kent Hughes if, for example, he has to accept an additional contract at the trade deadline, in order to help out an opposing GM.