Canadiens Assign Rafael Harvey-Pinard To Laval For Conditioning

The Montreal Canadiens have sent left winger Rafael Harvey Pinard to the Laval Rocket in the AHL to shake off the rust from his injury.

Rafael Harvey-Pinard didn't have the Summer he wanted, a broken leg and surgery meant he would miss the start of the season, but he's now ready to get into games. As a result, the Montreal Canadiens have decided to send him to the Laval Rocket for conditioning purpose. 

The maximum length of a conditioning stint in the AHL is 14 days and with this designation, the player does not have to go through waivers to play with the farm team. Both Brendan Gallagher and Carey Price have been sent to Laval on conditioning stints not so long ago. 

Harvey-Pinard won't feel lost in Laval, he played there for the best part of three seasons before getting an opportunity with the Canadiens thanks to the injury bug that wouldn't leave the team alone. 

Last season, he stayed in the NHL all year, but only took part in 45 games putting up two goals and eight assists for 10 points. It will be interesting to see what happens when the conditioning assignment is over and whether he'll be able to find his way into the lineup more frequently than Michael Pezzetta has. 

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