The Montreal Canadiens have an opportunity to add a 2019 first-round pick to the mix, as the Calgary Flames have placed Jakob Pelletier on waivers.
Pelletier, 23, was chosen 26th overall, and has had a hard time cracking the Flames’ roster, despite some solid play in the AHL. To be fair, the Flames haven’t exactly given him an overabundance of ice time during his 37 NHL games that were spread over the course of three seasons. The Quebec City native managed to score four goals and six assists in that stretch.
His AHL production, on the other hand, has been excellent. Pelletier scored 48 goals and 63 assists in 119 games for the Calgary Wranglers, resulting in an impressive 0.93 points per game pace. Pelletier can play down the middle of the ice and the wing, which means he brings a certain level of versatility to the mix, and he certainly seems to have some untapped offensive talent.
He does project as the type of player general manager Kent Hughes would be willing to invest in as a reclamation projection, however, there are some red flags at play when it comes to adding him to the Canadiens’ lineup.
The first is that he’s a diminutive forward, at 5’9″ and 170lb. I have no issue suggesting smaller players are underappreciated in the NHL, but we also have to be realistic when it comes to adding more short players to the lineup, as there’s a point of diminishing returns in terms of overall value.
Additionally, when evaluating the potential opening-night roster, there are no job openings available for a player coming from an outside source. The Canadiens could opt to return Oliver Kapanen to Sweden, or send one of Alex Barre-Boulet or Michael Pezzetta to the AHL, but neither of those situations are ideal when you consider Pelletier is far from a sure thing, and the available roster spots would not guarantee the type of ice time necessary to help a prospect find his scoring rhythm.
Some will be quick to point to Paul Byron’s statistics before the Canadiens gave him a legitimate chance to play in the NHL, and while there’s some merit to the argument Pelletier simply needs more ice time, there are many more examples of players playing quite well in the AHL, but failing to find a roster spot in the NHL. I’d also suggest Pelletier probably wouldn’t move the needle, and if we’re being honest, the Canadiens already have a few prospects of his ilk in the system.
The same can be said about Raphael Lavoie, who was added to waivers by the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. He’s an interesting option, but given the current roster situation in Montreal, I simply don’t see a scenario in which claiming Lavoie makes sense.
If the Habs do decide to make a waiver claim, they will have the fifth-highest waiver priority, which means only the San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, and Columbus Blue Jackets have a higher priority.
It’s also worth noting the Canadiens could claim both players, and it would not impact their waiver priority, as the current list will stay in effect until November 1, at which point the waiver-wire priority list will be based on the updated standings.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
Top NHL analyst Stephan Roget of 'Canucks Army' believes the Canucks could definitely offer sheet Mason McTavish or Marco Rossi, but they likely won't. Offer sheets remain one of the less common NHL deals, so a midsummer offer sheet from the Vancouver Canucks would remain highly unlikely. The player must be a restricted free agent (RFA) to be offer-sheet eligible, and come mid-July, there are not many remaining who are. Two of them are strong possibilities for whom the Canucks would consider making an offer sheet: Anaheim Ducks' Mason McTavish and Minnesota Wild's Marco Rossi. And offer sheets are a two-part process. Your team has to first make an offer. And then there has to be acceptance of a player before his current team is in a position to counter. That is uncertainty enough. Any offer sheet from the Canucks would have to be at least $11.7 million per year The Canucks would only be able to give Mason McTavish or Marco Rossi at the absolute highest compensation level, above $11.7 million annually. That would cost four protected first-rounders across five drafts to the Canucks. While both Rossi and McTavish would certainly appreciate an offer of this nature, whether either is truly worth this kind of investment of this size, especially for Vancouver, a club not comfortably in a playoff position, is questionable. 'As it stands, the Canucks are still eligible to make offer sheets to McTavish and Rossi - but only certain offer sheets. 'Whether it's realistic to expect a mid-summer offer sheet from the Canucks, is no'. - Stephan Roget Bottom line: While theoretically, a Canucks summer offer sheet is conceivable, too high a price, in cap space and future equity, makes it extremely unlikely, per NHL analyst Stephan Roget of 'Canucks Army.'
Fabrizio Romano confirmed that Sporting CP have agreed the signing of Almeria striker Luis Suarez, who was a transfer target for Sunderland. The journalist explained that the Portuguese club will pay €25m for the 27-year-old Colombian forward, and Almeria will keep a 10% sell-on clause. This way, Sunderland misses out on another of their market targets to strengthen their attack, so they will have to look for other alternatives. This operation is a consequence of a 'domino effect', generated by the almost official, according to Romano, purchase of Viktor Gyokeres (27) by Arsenal. Fabrizio Romano drops huge €25m update on Sunderland transfer target "Sporting CP have agreed deal to sign Luis Javier Suarez from Almeria, here we go!," Romano began writing. "Deal confirmed as exclusively revealed in June. €25m fee package plus 10% sell-on clause," added the journalist, through his Twitter (X) account. This isn't the only complication for Regis Le Bris' team in this transfer window, as another attacking target, Gonzalo Garcia (21), appears to be finally extending his contract with Real Madrid, according to AS reports. "Now Gonzalo threatens Endrick's status and is negotiating a professional contract with Madrid," they explained in the cited outlet, after the mentioned 18-year-old Brazilian forward got injured again. Additionally, the failed signing of Sassuolo's Armand Lauriente (26) also joins the list of 'failures' by the Lads board this summer, specifically in their objective to strengthen the attack. Therefore, we cannot rule out that in the coming days, new rumors will emerge linking other offensive players with Sunderland, because it's clear that Le Bris wants to add talent in that area. Other forwards previously linked with the Black Cats are Nantes' Matthis Abline (22) and OGC Nice's Evann Guessand (24), although there haven't been recent updates. Read More:
The New York Mets are a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East, but their pitching staff is still injury-ravaged despite the recent returns of Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas. Brandon Waddell (hip), Dedniel Nuñez (elbow), Max Kranick (flexor), Paul Blackburn (shoulder), Tylor Megill (elbow), Griffin Canning (Achilles), Drew Smith (elbow), A.J. Minter (lat), Danny Young (elbow), and Christian Scott (elbow) are alll on the Mets' IL. The MLB Trade Deadline is July 31 at 6 p.m. EST, so the front office has one week to add healthy arms from around the league this season. ESPN's David Schoenfield predicted on Thursday that New York would trade for a Minnesota Twins reliever. "One guarantee of the trade deadline: The Mets will add to the bullpen, probably with more than one trade. Though the rotation still ranks fifth in ERA, that was built off a hot start," he wrote. "More importantly, the only Mets starter to complete six innings since June 7 has been David Peterson. As a result, manager Carlos Mendoza has run relievers Reed Garrett, Huascar Brazoban, Jose Butto and Ryne Stanek into the ground. The bullpen had a 2.78 ERA through May, but that figure is over 5.00 since the beginning of June (ranking near the bottom of the majors)." "The Twins have two high-profile relievers in [Jhoan] Duran and [Griffin] Jax, both of whom are under team control through 2027, so they'll be much more expensive than your usual short-term relievers if the Twins decide to trade one or both," he continued. "Duran would be harder to deal -- but bring more in return -- so we'll say Jax will go. Don't be fooled by his 4.09 ERA: He has 68 strikeouts and 12 walks in 44 innings with a 97-mph heater. He's an elite strikeout reliever, the type you want on the mound in October." The Mets are hot despite their injuries, as they're on a four-game winning streak and just swept the Los Angeles Angels. Next up is a road trip against the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres. New York right-handed pitcher Clay Holmes (8-5, 3.48 ERA) will face Giants right-hander Logan Webb (9-7, 3.08 ERA) on Friday.
Training camp has started for the Las Vegas Raiders, and Christian Wilkins still isn't on the practice field. He hurt his foot in Week 5 of last season and continues to be in recovery. Head coach Pete Carroll didn't exactly instill confidence when he revealed that there's still no timeline for his return. “It’s still uncertain,” Carroll said during his Tuesday press conference. “We sort of have to wait it out.” Wilkins appears to be out of the boot, so that's a good sign, but there's been no clarity on when he might be able to get back on the field. With that in mind, the Raiders might want to consider adding more defensive line help. Linval Joseph Could Be Fit for Raiders At this stage of the offseason, there aren't going to be great options in free agency, but the Raiders could find a dependable veteran. Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report believes Las Vegas should target free agent defensive tackle Linval Joseph. "Joseph finished his 2024 campaign with two sacks, two tackles for loss and 19 total tackles," Knox wrote. "He'd be a solid addition for any team needing depth along the defensive interior, and there are a couple. "The Las Vegas Raiders may need another defensive tackle, as Christian Wilkins still hasn't fully recovered from last year's second-ending foot injury." Joseph spent last season with the Dallas Cowboys and had 2.0 sacks. He's 36 now, but was able to play in all 17 games in 2024. He also went to back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2016 and 2017 when he was with the Minnesota Vikings.