The Laval Rocket looks as if it’s going to get another boost as the Montreal Canadiens place Gustav Olofsson on the waiver wire.
Injuries before the start of the season are downers, but it helps when the duration of time they’re out isn’t too long. Take Gustav Olofsson, for example, who the Montreal Canadiens haven’t seen much of in the last year.
The Montreal Canadiens announced that Olofsson sustained an upper-body injury heading into training camp. It doesn’t help that the defencemen missed a large portion of the season with an injury keeping him out of the Laval Rocket lineup after the organization moved prospect Will Bitten for him.
Fortunately, it seems like Olofsson is healthy now as the team placed him on waivers in hopes of sending to play with the Laval Rocket. He should have no problem clearing as teams are still trying to finalize their rosters. There haven’t been too many waiver claims even though fans were worried about Charles Hudon and Charlie Lindgren getting picked up.
Olofsson saw only two games in the AHL before being shut down but has NHL experience with the Minnesota Wild. He could end up being a depth option for the Montreal Canadiens; however, they don’t know what they have in him. This may be the year for that to come out, considering he’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. That said, the growth of Cale Fleury may get in the way of that.
It’ll be important for Olofsson to play, and his greatest competition at this point will be European free agent Otto Leskinen who also stood out during training camp.
Save for the NHL angle, it’ll also be important for Olofsson to perform for the sake of the Rocket. There is a lot of talent on this year’s roster, but they’ve struggled with limiting high-danger scoring chances which have taken the blade to Lindgren and Michael McNiven’s save percentages over the years.
If Olofsson can help stabilize things, Laval may be able to put more wins together and contend for a playoff spot. For now, it’s the watching game for the 24-year-old.