Montreal Canadiens unexpectedly cut ties with NCAA star prospect
The Montreal Canadiens have officially given up their rights to former 5th round draft pick Rhett Pitlick in a surprising move.
The Canadiens originally drafted Pitlick 131st overall in the 2019 draft. He was seen as a player with a lot of skill, but his small size was always going to be something he would have to overcome to succeed at the NHL level. It seems as though the Canadiens do not think he has developed well enough for that to be the case.
Now Pitlick appears to be heading to free agency after he completed his time with the University of Minnesota after three seasons there. As such, the Canadiens would have had to sign him by August 1st in order to retain his rights. As they have not done so, he will officially hit the free market.
This will come as a surprising move to many scouts and Habs fans alike. After all, Pitlick has shown stead improvements in his game over the past few seasons, culminating in a very good junior season at Minnesota. Many scouts believed that he was one of the team's more underrated prospects.
Went from a pure skill and speed player who used his on-puck carries to create offence, to a really translatable board battler and off-puck mover. Leads U. of Minnesota in pts with 35. #GoHabsGo
Pitlick scored just 18 points in his rookie season at the NCAA level, and just 5 of those were goals. In his sophomore season he improved across the board, potting 11 goals and 25 points. Finally, last season he set career highs again with 19 goals and 36 points.
Unfortunately, it seems that those improvements were not enough to warrant another look from Montreal. Surely though, other teams will be interested. Perhaps he will have to sign an AHL deal somewhere, but his path to the NHL is still very real if he can put in the hard work and continue to show improvements in his game. Perhaps someday the Canadiens will regret their decision to let Pitlick walk.
Source: EliteProspects
Rhett Pitlick Career Statistics
| POLL | ||
AOÛT 5 | 100 ANSWERS Montreal Canadiens unexpectedly cut ties with NCAA star prospect Do you think Rhett Pitlick will ever play games in the NHL? | ||
| Yes | 36 | 36 % |
| No | 64 | 64 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Brandon Hagel | - | 5 | 5 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Nico Hischier | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Macklin Celebrini | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jakob Chychrun | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Seth Jarvis | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Zachary Bolduc | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Will Cuylle | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Lars Eller | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Jake Guentzel | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alex Iafallo | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Ivan Ivan | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Drake Batherson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Simon Edvinsson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack Eichel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Morgan Frost | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Miro Heiskanen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 22 | 18 | 4 | - | 36 | |
Devils | 24 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 32 | |
Hurricanes | 21 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 31 | |
Wild | 21 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 30 | |
Golden Knights | 22 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 30 | |
Capitals | 21 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 29 | |
Maple Leafs | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Flames | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 20 | 13 | 7 | - | 26 | |
Rangers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||