Jeff Gorton makes his first move as Executive VP of the Canadiens.

The Montreal Canadiens have a new player on their roster.

National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the Habs have acquired forward Kale Clague by claiming him off of waivers today. Clague was waived on Friday by the Los Angeles Kings after appearing in just 11 games for the team this season, and it would appear as though the Habs viewed that as a golden opportunity to add to their lineup.

Clague was a 2nd round draft selection (51st overall) by the Kings at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, but including those 11 games this season he went on to play just a total of 33 games for the organization.

In my estimation he played relatively well in the 11 games he was tasked with this season, recording 5 assists, adding a pair of penalty minutes and finishing up with a plus minus rating of -2 over that stretch, but he has been sitting in the press box as of late. In fact Clague has not played since Nov 21st when the Kings faced off against the Arizona Coyotes, in spite of the fact he ate up a respectable 17:28 of ice time in that game.

This marks the first move of Jeff Gorton's tenure as executive vice president of the Montreal Canadiens and given the way the Canadiens cleaned house earlier this week, it seems very likely that his fingerprints are all over this decision. The move makes sense given that the Canadiens have been without the services of Shea Weber, who's career in the National Hockey League may be over, and have yet to see veteran defenseman Joel Edmundson play a game this season, but it may also speak to the direction in which Gorton intends to take this team.

Clague may not have established himself as a bonafide NHLer during his career, but he has managed to shine in the American Hockey League over the course of the past two seasons. He had a goal and 11 assists for 12 points over 23 games last season and already has 4 points in just 5 AHL games this season, very solid numbers for a 23 year old defenseman.

Given the lack of success the Canadiens have this season, Gorton may very well give a youngster like Clague a chance to prove himself on the roster as he evaluates which pieces will, or won't, be a part of the future for the Habs.