{"id":450857,"date":"2026-02-08T01:51:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T01:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/450857\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T01:51:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T01:51:26","slug":"canadiens-have-opportunity-to-acquire-6-foot-6-center-during-olympic-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/450857\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadiens have opportunity to acquire 6-foot-6 center during Olympic break"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t  &#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/640400.webp.webp\" style=\"width:100%;\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Oct 17, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings center Andrew Copp (18) scuffles with Tampa Bay Lightning center Jack Finley (62) in front of the net during the first period at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images\" title=\"Oct 17, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings center Andrew Copp (18) scuffles with Tampa Bay Lightning center Jack Finley (62) in front of the net during the first period at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images\"\/>&#13;<\/p>\n<p>Photo credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>The verdict will come down today regarding the immediate future of Jack Finley, a big-bodied centerman who is available, notably for the Montreal Canadiens.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.habsfanatics.com\/nhl-team\/tampa-bay-lightning\/lightning-place-6-foot-6-forward-jack-finley-on-waivers\" class=\"lien_marqueur\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Placed on waivers yesterday<\/a> by general manager Julien BriseBois and the Tampa Bay Lightning, the centerman is currently available for free to the other 31 teams around the league.<\/p>\n<p>This is a window of opportunity that will soon close for Kent Hughes, should he wish to add size to his lineup without giving up assets in return.<\/p>\n<p>Finley\u2019s profile is unique and could appeal to a team looking for added toughness.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re talking about a 6-foot-6, 227-pound colossus, selected in the second round (57th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n<p>This season, in 22 NHL games, he has recorded two goals and one assist, while maintaining a positive plus-minus rating of +2.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s be honest, those are role-player numbers, from a player known primarily for his defensive effectiveness and physical presence along the boards.<\/p>\n<p>An available roster spot, but a questionable need for the Montreal Canadiens<\/p>\n<p>Technically, the Montreal Canadiens are in a position to make this claim.<\/p>\n<p>Following the demotion of Samuel Blais to the Laval Rocket, the organization has an open spot on its 23-man roster.<\/p>\n<p>However, let\u2019s tell it like it is: the likelihood of the Canadiens putting in a claim remains low.<\/p>\n<p>With the anticipated return of Alex Newhook after the break and a surplus of forwards already surrounding the team, adding another fourth-line player doesn\u2019t seem to align with the club\u2019s current needs.<\/p>\n<p>Martin St-Louis is looking to stabilize his lineup, and integrating a new project at this stage of the season could complicate ice-time management.<\/p>\n<p>That said, it will be interesting to monitor the news wire at 2:00 p.m., especially since he could fill an intriguing role, particularly when compared to a player like Joe Veleno.<\/p>\n<p>If the Canadiens pass, it\u2019s very possible that a contending team looking to get tougher for the playoffs jumps at the opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics<\/p>\n<p>POLL<\/p>\n<p>7 HOURS AGO|203 ANSWERS<\/p>\n<p>Canadiens have opportunity to acquire 6-foot-6 center during Olympic break<\/p>\n<p>Should the Canadiens claim Jack Finley and his imposing 6-foot-6 frame?<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&#13; &#13; &#13; Photo credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images The verdict will come down today regarding the immediate&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450858,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5103],"tags":[18720,265,5,13592,1749,264,21,5147,4,92,11839],"class_list":["post-450857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal-canadiens","tag-acquisition","tag-canadiens","tag-hockey","tag-jack-finley","tag-kent-hughes","tag-montreal","tag-montreal-canadiens","tag-montrealcanadiens","tag-nhl","tag-tampa-bay-lightning","tag-waivers"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116032509904508406","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450857","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=450857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=450857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=450857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}