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Rafaël Harvey-Pinard unclaimed in waivers

Originally posted on Dose.ca | Last updated Dec 1, 2024 4:19 PM ET

Rafaël Harvey-Pinard’s fate is now known.

He was placed in the Canadiens’ waivers yesterday, and we were waiting to see if any other team would decide to claim him.

In the end, the other clubs decided to ignore him.

The Québécois, who spent the last two weeks in Laval, will continue his season with the Rocket.

I imagine Pascal Vincent will be pleased… Because Rafaël Harvey-Pinard has all the tools in his bag to greatly help the Habs’ club-school:

Forward Rafaël Harvey-Pinard went unclaimed in the waivers and was traded to the Laval Rocket.

Forward Rafaël Harvey-Pinard has cleared waivers and been loaned to the Laval Rocket.

– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) December 1, 2024

First and foremost, this isn’t necessarily a big surprise.

I agree that the forward has played in the NHL in the past and has an interesting style of play because of his intensity, but Renaud Lavoie talked about it earlier this week: it’s mainly his salary that’s scary.

At $1.1 million on the payroll, not every team can afford to pay a support player at that price.

So much the better for the Canadiens.

Kent Hughes will have the opportunity to recall Harvey-Pinard should an injury occur, and knowing that there’s a guy down there with experience who’s ready to step up if needed is a good thing.

It now remains to be seen whether HP will be able to find his rhythm in Laval.

He has just one point (one goal) in five games since his return to action, and a -4 rating.

He’s coming back from injury and needs to be given time, but still.