The Montreal Canadiens put Sasha Pastujov on waivers Sunday afternoon, less than a day after he posted a goal and an assist in Ottawa.
He wasn't alone. Montreal placed nine players on waivers for the purpose of a loan to the Laval Rocket, and most of them had just played real minutes Saturday night.
Pastujov logged 14:46 in the 4-3 loss in Ottawa and finished plus-2. Not exactly the stat line of a guy playing his way off an NHL roster.
Brett Berard scored in that same game and fired three shots on goal. Alex Belzile found the net too, in 15:36 of ice time.
Both now sit on the wire. So does Hunter McKown, who picked up an assist and led that group of waived forwards at 16:14.
So what does a strong September night buy you in this organization? Apparently a ticket to the waiver list, depending on who's ahead of you.
Kaapo Kahkonen hits waivers as the Canadiens crease gets tighter
The goaltending cut says plenty. Kaapo Kahkonen dressed as the backup in Ottawa and never got on the ice.
None of the three goalies who actually played Saturday made the list. Samuel Montembeault stopped all 14 shots he faced in the 4-2 home win.
Jacob Fowler split that game with him and turned aside 16 of 18. That's two netminders making the case at home while Kahkonen watched from the bench on the road.
Jakub Dobes took the loss in Ottawa after allowing four goals on 26 shots. Every one of those Senators goals came on the power play.
Samuel Poulin was charged with 16 penalty minutes in just 7:12 of ice time that night. He's on the list too.
On the blue line, Reilly Walsh played 14:10 in Ottawa without a point. Ethan Samson and Maksymilian Szuber worked the home game instead, with Szuber logging an even 15:00.
Here's the problem. Waiving Pastujov the morning after his most productive game is a bad call, because 31 other front offices watch these nights too.
It's a bit like leaving a bike unlocked outside a busy café. Most days nobody touches it. Some days you walk out to an empty rack.
Kent Hughes clearly feels comfortable taking that risk. The Canadiens sit 4-1-0 over their last five, and a club in that kind of form can gamble on the fringes.
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Toronto awaits Tuesday. By then, Montreal should know which of these nine cleared, and whether it just handed a rival a cheap forward with a scoring touch.
Did the Canadiens make a mistake waiving Sasha Pastujov right after his two-point night?
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