Feb 26: Along with the other two players on waivers, Leschyshyn has cleared without issue. He has been sent to the minor leagues in favor of Ryan Carpenter, who was recalled because the Rangers need 18 skaters if they are cap compliant. Carpenter’s $750K cap hit is slightly lower, though, allowing the team to bank a tiny bit of extra space today.
Feb 25: With the Rangers expected to be trying to clear up some salary to make another move to add to their roster, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that Jake Leschyshyn is expected to be on waivers at the top of the hour.
It will be the second time that the 23-year-old is on waivers this season as Vegas put him on the wire back in January when New York picked him up. Leschyshyn has yet to put up a single point in 35 games in 2022-23 between the two teams (22 with the Golden Knights, 13 with the Rangers) although he does have 55 hits and has won a little over 50% of his faceoffs so far. Last season was his first taste of NHL action when he had four goals and two assists in 41 appearances with Vegas.
Notably, Leschyshyn is in the first season of a three-year, one-way deal that carries a cap hit of $766.7K. Teams may be hesitant to commit two years of guaranteed salary to a player whose place on an NHL roster is very much in flux even though starting next season, his AAV will be below the league minimum. If Vegas elects to put in a claim and no one else does, they would be permitted to send Leschyshyn to the minors but if anyone else opted to, he would need to stay on the NHL roster.
I’m fascinated that he also drew a collective -10 for two playoff teams. I feel I could put up similar numbers as long as my offensive line mates tracked back.