The Montreal Canadiens and centre Tomas Plekanec have agreed to mutually part ways. Plekanec will be placed on unconditional waivers at noon today for the purpose of terminating his contract. Montreal signed Plekanec to a one-year, $3.5 million dollar deal in the off-season.
Tomas Plekanec to be placed on unconditional waivers.
DETAILS➡ https://t.co/q2fPnVRdrF#GoHabsGo
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 9, 2018
Is This The End for Tomas Plekanec?
Plekanec hasn’t played for the Habs since October 17th due to a lingering back issue. He began the season as a healthy scratch for the Habs and has only played in three games all season recording one goal. At 36 years old and with over 1,000 games under his belt, Plekanec could have played in his last NHL game especially with the fact that he is dealing with injuries.
Over his 16 year NHL career, Plekanec has played for the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. He has scored 233 goals and 375 assists for 608 points in 1,001 career games. Plekanec was originally drafted in the third round, 71st overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2001 NHL Draft.
What This Means for the Habs
The Habs will save $1.79 million in cap space by terminating Plekanec’s deal. Plekanec was brought back was because the Habs didn’t know what they were going to do with Jesperi Kotkaniemi who has been of to a great start. Kotkaniemi has exceeded all exceptions that Habs had of him coming into the year. They have also like how Max Domi and Matthew Peca have played this season at centre.
Plekanec has been on the injured reserve list, and thus was not impacting the Habs NHL roster limit at the present time. However, in addition to the extra cap space, this move gives the team a little more breathing room under the 50-contract limit.
Following the termination of the contract, Plekanec has indicated that he is retiring from the National Hockey League.
END OF THE ROAD: Canadiens forward Tomas Plekanec will retire from the NHL after agreeing to have his contract terminated by the team. “I always wanted to retire a Montreal Canadien,” Plekanec said Friday: https://t.co/1LdFr186ej pic.twitter.com/AdePuqUccq
— SportsCentre (@SportsCentre) November 9, 2018
Main Photo: MONTREAL, QC – JANUARY 18: Tomas Plekanec #14 of the Montreal Canadiens skates during the NHL game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Bell Centre on January 18, 2017, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
