Habs To Terminate Nicolas Beaudin’s Contract
Earlier this season, Nicolas Beaudin made it known he wanted more ice time in Laval. He didn’t get and now, he will look for that playing time elsewhere as the two sides have agreed to terminate his contract; the Habs placed him on unconditional waivers on Sunday.
Montreal acquired the 24-year-old defenceman from Chicago early last season in exchange for Cam Hillis. Considering that Beaudin was a 2018 first-round pick, it looked like a wise move to make. He finished last season with 25 points in 39 games with the Rocket, earning himself a one-year, two-way deal for this season.
However, Beaudin struggled on the defensive side of things with Laval dating back to last season and head coach Jean-Francois Houle was quite hesitant to use him as a result. Beaudin has been healthy for most of the year but only played in 16 games where he had six assists. He also suited up three times on loan for Canada at the Spengler Cup.
Even though Laval’s defensive depth has taken a bit of a hit with Brady Keeper’s long-term injury, Beaudin hardly played after returning, leading to this release. The Rocket will now have just six healthy defenders on their roster so it stands to reason they’ll be adding someone from ECHL Trois-Rivieres soon. The recently-acquired Chris Jandric is an option to be brought up as is Miguel Tourigny, another offence-first blueliner but with the Habs needing to decide if they’re signing him by June, some time with Laval would help make that call.
Once Beaudin’s deal is terminated, his contract will come off Montreal’s books, bringing their count to 45 out of the maximum of 50.