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Four ways the Montreal Canadiens can deal with Karl Alzner

By Omar L

MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 10: Look on Montreal Canadiens defenceman Karl Alzner (27) wearing a special commemorative canadian forces jersey at warm-up before the Las Vegas Golden Knights versus the Montreal Canadiens game on November 10, 2018, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 10: Look on Montreal Canadiens defenceman Karl Alzner (27) wearing a special commemorative canadian forces jersey at warm-up before the Las Vegas Golden Knights versus the Montreal Canadiens game on November 10, 2018, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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MONTREAL, QC – NOVEMBER 24: Montreal Canadiens Karl Alzner (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The latest narrative with the Montreal Canadiens revolves around Karl Alzner and what the organization can do with him, and it’s come down to four options.

Karl Alzner is on waivers, and it wasn’t to the surprise of many who follow or cover the Montreal Canadiens. Claude Julien said it perfectly after team practice when asked about the decision.

Including all the injuries, the Habs have a total of ten defencemen with them. Shea Weber is on the verge of being activated off injured reserve and something, or someone rather would have to go to make sure there is room for the team to remain within the 23-man roster limit.

The easy option would be to send down Brett Kulak, who Montreal called up from the Laval Rocket last week, but Julien mentioned they still want to see what they have in him. Kulak was acquired over the summer from the Calgary Flames in exchange for Rinat Valiev both being in the same position as restricted free agents looking to prove something, as well as veteran Matt Taormina. Since joining the Rocket, Kulak has stood out as one of the team’s better defencemen.

The 24-year-old was leading defenders in scoring with 3 goals and 11 assists in 19 games before making the jump to the NHL. Since then, he’s seen two games with the Montreal Canadiens putting up three shots on net.

There’s more to see from him Kulak, and that played a role in Alzner’s waive. It also came down to the other options ahead of him. Again as Julien mentioned, the Montreal Canadiens have a number of depth defencemen on nice deals who could easily be picked up if they were on waivers. Alzner’s deal is the least attractive.

But this issue needs to be settled one way or another. And the Habs may, in fact, have four ways.

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