$23 million dollar defenseman placed on waivers today.

A long time veteran of the National Hockey League has hit a new low point in his career today and it may all be downhill from here. 

According to a report from Sportsnet's Montreal Canadiens insider Eric Engels, the Habs have officially made the decision to place defenseman Karl Alzner on waivers today. The move marks a stunning decision from general manager Marc Bergevin who coughed up over $23 million dollars on a 5 year deal just a little over one year ago when he signed Alzner as an unrestricted free agent. It's as close as you're ever going to see a general manager get to admitting that he made a mistake of epic proportions and it could also mean a big cap issue for the Canadiens moving forward. 

Alzner is still under contract for the remainder of this season as well as 3 more seasons after than and on top of it he has a limited no trade clause that would make dealing him even harder. That's not to say that the Canadiens have any hopes of trading him at all. I do not know this for certain but the fact that he is being waived today has to be an indication that Bergevin attempted and failed to find a suitable trade for the veteran blue liner before making this move, and when you consider he counts for over $4.6 million against the cap each season that comes as little surprise.

Alzner has appeared in a total of just 8 games for the Canadiens all season and has been made a healthy scratch on several occasions already. Through those first 8 games of the season he has no goals and 1 assists for a total of 1 point and has also added 2 penalty minutes on his way to a plus minus rating of +2. Alzner has definitely looked like he has lost a step this season and the hopes the Canadiens initially had of pairing him with star defenseman Shea Weber seems like nothing but a distant memory. 

When asked about the possibility of being waived earlier in the season Azlner's frustration was rather apparent in his comment.

"It would be upsetting. But at the same time, I don't make the decisions. All I can control is what I'm doing out there. I came into camp, thought I had a good camp. I feel really good, still, which is surprising only playing six games. So it's though. It's hard to really put into words without being not nice, you know what I mean? But all I know is I know I can play, and that's kind of what it is." 

Now unfortunately it's his reality.

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