Announced today by the Carolina Hurricanes, Left Wing Brendan Lemieux has been placed on unconditional waivers. The 28-year-old forward requested contract termination in order to pursue a new opportunity. Last March, Lemieux inked a $775k extension to his initial one-year deal for the purpose of playing in the 2024-25 season. He has not appeared in a game this season. He received an injury in the pre-season and was later sent to the Chicago Wolves.
The #Canes have placed Brendan Lemieux on unconditional waivers.https://t.co/KuOUeiVVZC
— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) December 6, 2024
What is His Track Record
Throughout his NHL career, Brendan Lemieux has fallen into the groove of support roles as a superpest and agitator, crafting his sandpaper playstyle after his father, Claude Lemieux. Unlike his father, however, Brendan has also been very proficient as an enforcer. He has played for the Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, and Carolina Hurricanes. Throughout his career, he has played in 307 games but has not played a full season in the lineup of any one team – the most being in 2018-19, where he played 63 between the Jets and Rangers.
Showing off his ability as a talented agitator is his penalty minute differentials. His career total sits at +12, a decent number considering his 548 penalties in minutes accumulated. This puts him ahead of other big-name superpests, Tom Wilson and Brad Marchand, in this metric. His two best seasons in this statistic were 2018-19 and 2019-20. Between the two, he saw a combined total of +22 in PIM differentials.
However, his point generation has lacked. Lemieux is not known for his offence. The most goals he has had within a season are 12 in 2018-19. Meanwhile, the most assists he has had in a season is 12 in 2019-20, which also saw a career points high of 18.
Where is He Going
We don’t have any further information than the assumption he already has something in line. It is a new opportunity to pursue. There are many clubs that could benefit from a gritty player like Lemieux. Starting off, the top team that could be tapping him are the New York Rangers, who sit in the bottom three for power play opportunities league-wide. They have recently traded out their sandpaper mainstay, Jacob Trouba. While they do have an enforcer in Matt Rempe, they lack the skill of an agitator with a proven track record of drawing penalties in their favour.
Next would be the Montreal Canadiens. They are a team with top talent, but struggle. They sit in the top five with power play opportunities against, yet do decent on their own power plays. Someone to flip the script and assist in providing more opportunities in their favour may prove to be a good deal.
Finally, the Utah Hockey Club may have taken interest in Lemieux. They currently stand in the top five for opportunities against, and the bottom ten in opportunities for. It could be an interesting acquisition, considering his agent (Claude Lemieux) previously played for their predecessor, the Phoenix Coyotes. Considering that the Coyotes were preceded by the original Winnipeg Jets would be all too ironic, as well. A full-circle moment, as the current incarnation of the Jets was the team Brendan first played for in the NHL.
All in all, hopefully this step will lead to more games played by the left-wing enforcer/agitator. From his classic dirty goals to the 700-plus hits to his name, there is bound to be a team eyeing him for some much needed sandpaper. One thing that is certain is he will be missed by Carolina Hurricanes fans. What a journey it’s been.
Main Photo: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
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