The Tampa Bay Lightning weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to bring back one of their own. The team has claimed Alex Barre-Boulet off waivers from the Seattle Kraken. If they were the only team to submit a claim, they can assign the young forward directly to the AHL as if he cleared.
It certainly made sense for the Lightning to reclaim the 24-year-old Barre-Boulet, given what has happened since he was claimed by the Kraken earlier this month. While he was skating in two games for Seattle, the Lightning lost Nikita Kucherov from the lineup with an injury. By placing Kucherov on long-term injured reserve, Tampa Bay now has cap space and a roster spot to keep Barre-Boulet up if they choose.
It’s basically the best scenario possible for the Lightning. Not only did they reclaim a valuable asset, but Barre-Boulet was able to keep in game shape by suiting up twice for the Kraken. He even recorded a point, despite averaging fewer than nine minutes of ice time. That’s nothing new for the undrafted forward, who has been essentially a point-per-game producer at the minor league level for several seasons. In terms of depth forwards to plug into the lineup, the Lightning certainly could do worse.
So all the teams ahead of Tampa on the waiver claim ladder passed up on ABB? Suspicious cat remains suspicious.
I think the challenge for ABB is that he can only really contribute in a top six role and he is not ready for prime time, so few teams have a spot for him. He knows the Bolts’ system and has some top 6 experience when Kuch was out last year. This is the role he as groomed for so he has a chance to truly develop and contribute if Kuch is out until the Olympic break.
TB had initial claim rights as the team that had previously lost him on waivers.
Are waivers based on this year’s standings or last year’s at this point?
Also, this guy has tweener written all over him, like Chris Bourque.
Last year’s, until November 1. Regular season standings, that is. I believe Tampa is 24th.
I dont see why the PA is okay with this. the MLB waiver model seems a lot better and i would imagine owners wouldn’t be too bothered by such a model.