Montreal Canadiens waive defenseman Karl Alzner for buyout

The Montreal Canadiens and Karl Alzner have finally decided to part ways after a decision was made to place the veteran defenseman on waivers for purposes of a buyout on Tuesday.

In a move to free up cap space to comply with a flat salary cap for the foreseeable future, Montreal Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin has bought out defenseman Karl Alzner. The Canadiens now have an extra $666 667 to work with this offseason to improve theirteam.

Since Alzner was paid a scheduled $1.5 million bonus this summer, the Canadiens will not receive the $2.67 million in cap relief that they are expected to get in the 2021-22 season. Alzner had two years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $4.625 million.

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Alzner’s time in Montreal is not necessarily a period to remember in his career after only producing only 13 points in his 95 games played with the Canadiens at the NHL level. After signing a five-year, $23.1 million contract in the summer of 2017, Alzner failed to perform at the same level he did in Washington where he played a heavy defensive style of game and put up career highs in goals and assists (2014-15 and 2015-16).

The former fifth overall pick in the 2007 NHL draft struggled to solidify a steady role for himself on the Habs blue-line over the past three years, resulting in a demotion to the AHL where he regularly anchored the Laval Rockets’ defense corps.

Alzner played all 82 games in the 2017/18 season but was often seen by many as a defensive liability, best highlighted by his abysmal 43.1 CF% that season.

If Alzner clears waivers, he will become a free agent and look for a new home this season where has an opportunity to redeem himself and prove to his doubters that he can still play in the NHL. Teams looking for toughness and depth on their blue-line who could inquire for Alzner’s services include the Florida Panthers, the Ottawa Senators, and the Chicago Blackhawks. However, Alzner may have to start off with a two-way contract to allow teams some flexibility with their deployment of him.

With a bit more cap space to work with this off-season and not having to worry about having a lucrative contract buried in the AHL, Bergevin can now make a stronger and more long term push in both the free agent and trade market to add more scoring to their top six group of forwards.