Twenty-nine NHL clubs passed on claiming troubled Montreal forward Zack Kassian off waivers today.
And the 30th doesn’t appear to have any interest in him, either.
After the Habs announced Kassian cleared waivers and was assigned to their AHL affiliate in St. John’s, head coach Michel Therrien offered this rather blunt assessment of where the 24-year-old stood:
"There are a lot of players ahead of him right now in the organization. He's not my priority" - Michel Therrien on Zack Kassian going to AHL
— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) December 16, 2015
Yesterday, Kassian was reinstated from Stage Two of the NHL’s Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program.
Almost immediately afterward, the Habs put him on waivers.
Kassian was originally placed in the SABH program on Oct. 5, and suspended without pay until clearance. That came just days after he was involved in an early morning car accident in Montreal, in which Kassian was a passenger in a SUV driven by a 20-year-old female.
Montreal police later confirmed that while speed didn’t play a factor in the collision, alcohol may have.
On Oct. 7, Vancouver GM Jim Benning -- who traded Kassian to Montreal in exchange for Brandon Prust this summer -- confirmed that Kassian went through Stage One of the SABH while with the Canucks.
Kassian has yet to appear in a regular-season contest for the Canadiens.