Following their decision to sign former Anaheim Ducks winger Sonny Milano to a one-year deal worth $750,000 per season, the Washington Capitals have also decided to waive the forward for the purpose of assignment to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. That could create for an opportunity in Montreal, argues Marco D’Amico of Montreal Hockey Now.
D’Amico writes, “Milano, a former 1st round pick in 2014, possesses good skill and speed in his game to be a more dependable goal-scoring option than what the Canadiens currently have on their bottom-six at the moment.” He also argues that because it appears Juraj Slafkvosky is going to need some time in the AHL and players like Mike Hoffman and Evgeni Dadanov haven’t played well to start the season, having someone like Milano around isn’t the worst idea.
Further to that, if Milano performs well, the Canadiens will have acquired another trade chip that can be used at the NHL Trade Deadline in March when the Canadiens will look to unload players and pick up prospects and draft picks.
D’Amico argues this is a no-lose situation for the Canadiens as Milano can always be placed on waivers later and if he clears, his contract would not count against the Canadiens’ cap because of his league-minimum salary.
Milano wasn’t qualified by the Anaheim Ducks this offseason and his underwhelming audition with the Calgary Flames in a PTO ended with his release. There is uncertainty whether he’ll go unclaimed on waivers, even though a number of insiders and some teams see his potential upside. The 16th overall pick in 2014, he has 197 games on his NHL resume. In 66 games with the Ducks last season, the 26-year-old had 14 goals and 20 assists for 34 points.
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