The Montreal Canadiens will place forward Tomas Plekanec on unconditional waivers at noon Friday in order to terminate his contract, the team announced.

The veteran forward has struggled to remain in the lineup for any significant period of time this year, having played in just three of the Canadiens' 16 games this season.

The 36-year-old rejoined the Habs this offseason following a deal ahead of the trade deadline last year that sent him from Montreal to the Toronto Maple Leafs for their stretch run.

Plekanec played in his 1,000th career game earlier this season, scoring his lone goal of the campaign. He ranks seventh on the franchise's all-time games played list (984) and is tied for second in Canadiens history with 20 shorthanded goals.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.