Canadiens place Joel Armia and Gustav Lindström on waivers

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It’s unlikely Armia will be claimed by another team since he has two more seasons left on his four-year, US$13.6-million contract with an annual salary-cap hit of US$3.4 million. The 30-year-old has only scored 20 goals over the last three seasons and had 7-7-14 totals in 43 games last season.

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The Canadiens acquired Lindström from the Detroit Red Wings this summer, along with a fourth-round pick at the 2025 NHL Draft, in exchange for defenceman Jeff Petry. The 24-year-old Lindstrom had 1-7-8 totals in 36 games last season with the Red Wings. He has a one-year, US$950,000 contract.

If Armia and Lindstrom clear waivers they will likely be assigned to the AHL’s Laval Rocket.

When asked during training camp about the pressure on Armia to earn a spot on the 23-man roster to start the regular season, head coach Martin St. Louis said: “I think he sees that there’s a lot of guys pushing. For him, the only thing he can do is control what he can.”

In Saturday night’s 6-4 win over the Senators in Ottawa, Armia had no points and one shot in 15:32 of ice time and was minus-2 in the Canadiens’ final pre-season game. He also took a bad penalty for holding with 22 seconds left in the second period and the Canadiens leading 3-2.

The Canadiens still have 25 players (14 forwards, eight defencemen and three goalies) on their training-camp roster. Normally, teams go with 14 forwards, seven defencemen and two goalies on their final 23-man roster. There’s a chance the Canadiens will keep three goalies since Cayden Primeau would have to clear waivers before being assigned to Laval. The defencemen most likely on the bubble to make the team are Justin Barron and Mattias Norlinder.

NHL teams have until 5 p.m. Monday to make their final cuts.

The Canadiens had the day off Sunday and will practise at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard. They will open the regular season Wednesday in Toronto against the Maple Leafs (7 p.m., SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

scowan@postmedia.com

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