The Montreal Canadiens have been dealing with a shorthanded roster since the trade deadline. They shipped out veterans Ilya Kovalchuk, Nate Thompson, Matthew Peca and Nick Cousins, all within 24 hours of the deadline.
They were able to add a handful of picks for the upcoming NHL Draft in Montreal in June, but it left them with barely enough players to ice a team. Due to a couple of contradicting league rules, the Habs will be dealing with a shorthanded roster the rest of the season.
Had they called up players before the deadline, those players would not be eligible to play in the AHL playoffs this year because you need to be on an AHL roster at the time of the deadline to be able to play AHL playoffs.