Friday: Lack has cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minor leagues.
Thursday: The New Jersey Devils had been carrying three goaltenders on their roster since Cory Schneider returned from his hip injury, as even though Eddie Lack was on a conditioning stint he still counted towards the 23-man group. Now they’ve dealt with that situation, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Lack has been placed on waivers.
Lack, 30, never did get into a game for the Devils this season as Keith Kinkaid was instead given the starting role. The veteran backup has bounced around the last few years, and played in just eight games over the last two seasons. That’s a far cry from the 2014-15 campaign when he went 18-13-4 for the Vancouver Canucks and was among the league leaders with a .921 save percentage. Lack at that point looked like a goaltender who would lock down an NHL crease for years to come, but has since seen his performance decline rapidly.
There are teams who could take a chance on the 6’4″ goaltender though, as they deal with injuries or inconsistency from their own starters. Los Angeles, Arizona, Ottawa and others could all potentially use a veteran netminder to give them some more experience in the crease, and with Lack’s $650K salary he would cost just as much or less than their current options. Still, there have been other goaltenders like Anton Forsberg and Mike Condon who have passed through unscathed already this season for one reason or another, and Lack may experience the same. If he does, he’ll be solid depth for the Devils at the minor league level.
Gavin, did you really write this with a straight face? “Los Angeles, Arizona, Ottawa and others could all potentially use a veteran netminder to give them some more experience in the crease” Eddie Lack is hard-pressed to stop a beach ball at this point in his career and would probably be a boat anchor in Adirondack, forget about AHL “depth.” He’s not a better option than a recent draft choice already in their organization. Unless he can get a couple of magic goalie pills from Mitch Korn or one of the Allaires, he’s probably best suited for a European tour.