Man On Wire: Checking In On The Waiver Claims

In the new NHL where trades between cap-strapped clubs are so difficult, many teams look to the waiver wire to make small but potentially valuable additions to their club. That bottom pairing defenseman or fourth line center you just can’t seem to find may be available when another team has a roster crunch due to injury or poor play.

Since October 8th when teams made their final cuts before the season opener, there have been 26 players claimed on waivers. Many of these are duplicates as teams claim, then waive a player hoping to slip him through and down into the minors. Here we’ll check in on how they’ve done with their new clubs.

Martin Frk:
CAR from DET – 2 GP, 0 G, 0 A (returned to Detroit and sent to minors)

Mike Condon:
PIT from MTL –  1 GP, 0.00 GAA, 1.000 SV% (traded to Ottawa for a 5th round pick)

Seth Griffith:
TOR from BOS – 3 GP, 0 G, 0 A
FLA from TOR – 21 GP, 0 G, 5 A (returned to Toronto and sent to minors)

Klas Dahlbeck:
CAR from ARZ – 15 GP, 1 G, 2 A

Teemu Pulkkinen:
MIN from DET – 9 GP, 1 G, 0 A (cleared waivers for Minnesota, assigned to minors)

P.A. Parenteau:
NJ from NYI – 51 GP, 12 G, 12 A

Emerson Etem:
ANA from VAN – 3 GP, 0 G, 0 A (cleared waivers for Anaheim, assigned to minors)

Ben Smith:
TOR from COL – 26 GP, 2 G, 1 A

Matt Puempel:
NYR from OTT – 18 GP, 6 G, 1 A

Reid Boucher:
NSH from NJ – 3 GP, 1 G, 0 A (returned to New Jersey)
VAN from NJ – 1 GP, 0 G, 0 A

Josh Jooris:
ARZ from NYR – 14 GP, 1 G, 1 A

Alexander Burmistrov:
ARZ from WPG – 9 GP, 1 G, 5 A

Ty Rattie:
CAR from STL – 5 GP, 0 G, 2 A

Matt Nieto:
COL from SJ – 11 GP, 4 G, 1 A

Curtis McElhinney:
TOR from CBJ – 3 GP, 2.52 GAA, .916 SV%

Derek Grant:
NSH from BUF – 6 GP, 0 G, 1 A (returned to Buffalo)

Brad Hunt:
NSH from STL – 0 GP, 0 G, 0 A

Stefan Noesen:
NJ from ANA – 4 GP, 2 G, 0 A

Mark Barberio:
COL from MTL – 1 GP, 0 G, 0 A

Alexey Marchenko:
TOR from DET – 0 GP, 0 G, 0 A

While Parenteau has made a big impact for the New Jersey Devils, the big winners here might be the Pittsburgh Penguins. They turned a waiver selection of Condon into a fifth-round pick just a week later (remember that the Pens selected Jake Muzzin with a fifth-rounder once upon a time). Arizona has also benefited, picking up a former top-prospect in Burmistrov off the scrap heap and immediately seeing results from him in the desert.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have added a servicable fourth liner in Smith, a backup goaltender in McElhinney, kept a prospect in Griffith and a right-handed shot defenseman in Marchenko. While none are big names, picking up value at a discount is how you build long-term contender.