Canadiens place Gustav Lindstrom on waivers

Lindstrom played 14 games for the Canadiens this season, scoring three goals and an assist for four points. He hasn’t played in a game for the Canadiens since Dec. 9.

In five NHL seasons, Lindstrom has five goals and 24 assists for 29 points in 142 career games. Lindstrom was a second-round pick for the Detroit Red Wings in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, playing junior hockey for Almtuna IS in Sweden’s HockeyEttan Div-1.

After a season with Frolunda in the Swedish Elite League, Lindstrom joined the Red Wings’ organization in 2019-20, playing 45 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins and recording five assists, then 16 games with the Red Wings, recording one helper.

In August 2023, Lindstrom was traded to the Habs with a fourth-round pick in 2025 for defenseman Jeff Petry. He was sent to the AHL’s Laval Rocket and played four games with the minor league club before being called up after David Savard suffered an injury.

As of Jan. 9, the Canadiens are 17-17-5 with 39 points through 39 games, sixth in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division. They currently possess the worst goal differential in the East with a minus-26, largely thanks to a depleted blue line and a forward corp that’s struggling to score.

Captain Nick Suzuki leads the team in scoring with 34 points (12 goals and 22 assists) and defenseman Mike Matheson has 27 points on the blue line. But two games from the midway point, only four players on the team have more than 20 points (Suzuki, Matheson, Cole Caufield and Sean Monahan).

Their next game is Wednesday on the road against the Philadelphia Flyers, followed by a home game on Thursday against the San Jose Sharks, then they wrap up the week by hosting the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.