As the holiday roster freeze comes to an end, two players have ended up on the waivers. Dennis Rasmussen of the Anaheim Ducks and Dalton Prout of the New Jersey Devils have both been waived, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.
With Ryan Kessler coming off injured reserve yesterday to make his season debut, someone had to go for the Ducks. With only Kevin Roy, Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase waiver-exempt up front, Rasmussen was the odd man out. In 27 games this season, the former Chicago Blackhawks forward had just four points and hadn’t shown much offensive potential. The 27-year old could be claimed as a depth center around the league, as he earns just over the NHL minimum this year.
Prout was in a similar situation after Marcus Johansson came off injured reserve, but the Devils were already carrying nine defensemen and needed to make a move. Will Butcher and Steven Santini are waiver-exempt, but are too important to send down to the minor league at this point. Instead Prout, who comes with a cap hit of nearly $1.6MM, will be sent to the AHL if he clears. It’s unlikely that anyone would claim the 27-year old defenseman because of that salary, meaning New Jersey will get a prorated $1.025MM in cap space by burying Prout.