Monday: After clearing waivers, the Kings have indeed terminated Laich’s contract. It looks like the end of the line for the 34-year old, who has seen his play diminish greatly since scoring 20+ goals in three consecutive seasons earlier in his career.
Sunday: Two more players have been placed on waivers today, according to Elliotte Friedman, who reports that the Buffalo Sabres have placed Seth Griffith on waivers, while the Los Angeles Kings have placed Brooks Laich on unconditional waivers with the intention of terminating his contract.
Griffith didn’t just make the Buffalo squad out of training camp, but earned top-six minutes to start the season. However, he has since fallen out of favor. He had been a healthy scratch the past two games before playing in Saturday’s loss to the Montreal Canadiens. However, the 24-year-old center only received 9:03 of playing time on one of the bottom lines. Griffith is not new to being waived. He was waived by the Boston Bruins in October last year and was subsequently claimed by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Almost a month later, Toronto waived him again and he was claimed by the Florida Panthers. In January of 2017, the Panthers waived him and he was re-claimed by the Maple Leafs again and eventually ended up playing with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL.
As for Laich, the veteran forward was placed on waivers on Friday and then cleared waivers yesterday. James Mirtle of The Athletic adds that it appears Laich intends to retire. The 34-year veteran, who has spent much of his 30’s plagued by injuries, played 12 games with the Kings this year, picking up just one assist during that span.