Montreal Canadiens place David Schlemko on waivers

It’s the end of an era for David Schlemko, and the Montreal Canadiens as the organization has placed the veteran defenceman on waivers.

Well, the move that Montreal Canadiens fans have been waiting for is here as David Schlemko has found himself on the waiver wire. Schlemko has been in an interesting spot on the Habs blueline all season.

The 31-year-old was up and down on the depth chart playing as high as the top pair with Shea Weber while being bumped to the third with Victor Mete. Although Claude Julien appreciated the experience that Schlemko brought to the table with over 400 NHL games under his belt, he could never put it together during the 60-minute regulation.

Schlemko would stick out negatively not displaying the proper awareness or speed to remain as one of the team’s starters. It also didn’t help that he was being surpassed by the likes of Mete and Brett Kulak who the Habs prefer. Perhaps Marc Bergevin was attempting to find a trade partner for Schlemko, but him being on waivers now may hint to a lack of takers on the market.

Another point is room on the active roster list, which Karl Alzner was a victim of as well. With Joel Armia returning to the team, something else had to give, and with Kulak requiring waivers, he made the most sense.

Unlike Alzner and Mete though, it won’t be a completely new environment for Schlemko. He played a number of games with the Laval Rocket last season on conditioning stints as more injuries delayed his eventual debut with the Montreal Canadiens. But we won’t know until tomorrow afternoon whether he cleared or not.

The odds of him clearing are fairly high though given his cap hit at $2.1 million annually and perhaps he’ll be easier to trade then as he can remain with another team’s minor league affiliate. It may take some time before any further decisions are made there considering Schlemko will just be coming off injured reserve. Perhaps his play after that will dictate what his future is.