March 20: All three Michaels have cleared waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Amadio and Chaput can now be assigned to the taxi squad or minor leagues, while Houser remain with the Rochester Americans.
March 19: Bad day for Michael. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that Michael Houser (BUF), Michael Amadio (LAK) and Michael Chaput (ARI) have been placed on waivers today. Houser only just signed a contract with the Buffalo Sabres today, meaning he needed to clear waivers to be assigned to the taxi squad or stay in the minor leagues.
Chaput has known these waters before, clearing waivers several times in his career so far. The most recent occasion was in January just before the season began, but now that he has played 10 games for the Arizona Coyotes, he’ll need to clear again to go back to the taxi squad. The 28-year-old forward hasn’t recorded an NHL goal since the 2016-17 season and has gone completely scoreless this season. He’ll likely go unclaimed once again, giving the Coyotes the ability to move him up and down.
It’s Amadio that may draw some interest out of this group, given his age and interesting history. The 24-year-old winger was the 90th overall pick in 2014 and played extremely well in the minor leagues, scoring at a near-point-per-game pace for the Ontario Reign. In 168 NHL contests, he has just 39 points, though 16 of those came last season in a limited role through 68 appearances. Unfortunately, Amadio has just two points on the season this time around and hasn’t even been able to generate many shots on net. Unless a rebuilding team sees him as a piece that could be salvaged, he will likely clear just like the others.
If no one else does, I bet the Pens claim Amadio and give him a shot to replace Teddy Blueger.