The Canucks have placed center Michael Chaput on waivers, per a team announcement on Twitter. This comes on the heels of center Bo Horvat being activated off injured reserve earlier in the day although they didn’t need to waive Chaput to free up the roster spot because of defenseman Erik Gudbranson being transferred to IR.
Chaput has only played nine games with Vancouver this season but he has been up with the team for longer than 30 days since he last cleared so the Canucks have to put him on the wire once again. In those nine games, he was held off the scoresheet while averaging 9:47 per game. He has been more productive at the AHL level with Utica though, collecting nine goals and seven assists in 23 contests.
The 25-year-old is only a year removed from playing a somewhat regular role in the NHL and has been well above average at the faceoff dot the last three seasons so there is a chance that someone in need of center depth could be interested. He carries a cap hit of just over $687K and will be a restricted free agent with arbitration eligibility next summer.
Because the announcement came past the 11:00 AM CST daily deadline, Chaput won’t officially hit the wire until Monday which means that teams will be eligible to claim him until Tuesday.
Quebec kid. Montreal needs Centres. Perfect fit.