Habs Sign and Waive Gustav Lindstrom

The Habs are bringing back a familiar face as the team announced on Wednesday that they’ve signed blueliner Gustav Lindstrom to a one-year, two-way contract.  Lindstrom was subsequently played on waivers for the purposes of assigning him to Laval.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Lindstrom was with the Habs at the start of last season after being acquired from Detroit as part of the Jeff Petry trade.  He cleared waivers in camp but was recalled just two weeks later.  The 25-year-old stayed with the team for more than two months before being waived a second time in January.  This time, they weren’t able to sneak him through as he was picked up by Anaheim.

Overall, Lindstrom played in 46 NHL games last season between the two teams, recording three goals, seven assists, plus 63 hits and blocked shots in 15:27 per night of ice time.  He also got into four games with the Rocket.  For his career, Lindstrom has 35 points, 206 blocks, and 194 hits in 174 career NHL appearances.

Lindstrom was with Anaheim in training camp on a PTO agreement but didn’t secure a deal.  The fact it took a few extra days for him to sign suggests that it’s unlikely he’ll be claimed off waivers on Thursday.

At first glance, it appears as if Lindstrom could fill the role we suggested for him back in July when assessing the rest of the UFA market for defencemen, that of a veteran blueliner to help Laval while being someone they can comfortably bring up as a seventh defender so as to not have a younger player serving as a healthy scratch.  With David Reinbacher poised to miss most of the season, Lindstrom could conceivably play on the second pairing with the Rocket behind Logan Mailloux who was one of the final cuts by the Habs earlier this week.

With the signing, Montreal is now at 45 contracts out of 50 for this season.  (While Reinbacher is eligible to slide, his contract will still count against the 50 unless he’s assigned to the CHL or overseas, neither of which will happen.)  He’ll be eligible for restricted free agency next summer although he’s a candidate to be non-tendered given his NHL experience, one that would push the price tag in a hearing well past the minimum salary.