{"id":434124,"date":"2026-01-29T10:45:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T10:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/434124\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T10:45:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T10:45:30","slug":"three-players-placed-on-nhl-waivers-today-including-maple-leafs-defenseman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/434124\/","title":{"rendered":"Three players placed on NHL waivers today, including Maple Leafs defenseman"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\t\t\t\t\t \"Nov <\/p>\n

Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

We’ve got some National Hockey League waiver action involving three players on this Canadiens game day Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Insider Elliotte Friedman just dropped three names that were placed on waivers in the NHL today, and let’s just say it’s not exactly an all-you-can-eat buffet for Canadiens fans.<\/p>\n

Kent Hughes’ phone isn’t likely to overheat this afternoon.<\/p>\n

Today’s group is unlikely to provide meaningful help for Montreal.<\/p>\n

First, the Toronto Maple Leafs submitted defenseman Dakota Mermis to waivers.<\/p>\n

At 32, this undrafted defenseman does not address a clear need on Montreal’s blue line. The team already struggles to give Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj regular ice time.<\/p>\n

Adding an AHL veteran would be a step backward.<\/p>\n

Next, it’s a little cleanup with the Columbus Blue Jackets placing two forwards on waivers.<\/p>\n

Zach Aston-Reese, another 31-year-old undrafted player, is available. He brings energy, sure, but the Canadiens already have what they need on the fourth line.<\/p>\n

He’s the most interesting name today.<\/p>\n

The third player placed on waivers, 31-year-old Brendan Gaunce, is a solid AHL player but not a solution for a team aiming for the playoffs<\/p>\n

Montreal Canadiens fans want real reinforcements as three depth players hit NHL waivers<\/p>\n

Fans expect Kent Hughes to make a move for a goalie or a scorer, not to target marginal depth options.<\/p>\n

The Canadiens are in a precarious position in the standings. This is not the time to dilute talent with depth players.<\/p>\n

These three players will very likely end up in the AHL by tomorrow at noon.<\/p>\n

The Canadiens’ youth strategy shouldn’t be compromised to fill holes that don’t really exist.<\/p>\n

We let it pass and wait for the GM’s real big move.<\/p>\n

Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics<\/p>\n

POLL<\/p>\n

JANVIER 27\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0862 ANSWERS<\/p>\n

Three players placed on NHL waivers today, including Maple Leafs defenseman<\/p>\n

Should the Canadiens claim Brendan Gaunce off waivers to add depth?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images We’ve got some National Hockey League waiver action involving three…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434125,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7436,19792,2300,5,1749,4,11839,6889],"class_list":["post-434124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-brendan-gaunce","tag-dakota-mermis","tag-elliotte-friedman","tag-hockey","tag-kent-hughes","tag-nhl","tag-waivers","tag-zach-aston-reese"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115977986528204391","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}