Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Waivers

Jordan Maletta Placed On Unconditional Waivers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Friday: Maletta has cleared waivers and will see his contract terminated.

Thursday: According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Chicago Blackhawks have placed Jordan Maletta on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination. Maletta was acquired by the Blackhawks as part of the Marian Hossa trade with the Arizona Coyotes and is in the final season of his entry-level contract.

Maletta, 23, is likely facing the end of his playing career after not being medically cleared to attend camp this season and instead taking a role with the Niagara IceDogs coaching staff (though he’s not listed in any official capacity so far). The young forward played parts of four seasons in Niagara during his junior career, and is originally from the area.

Though he obviously wasn’t the central target for the Hossa trade, Maletta had shown some promise as an undrafted minor league player. In 2016-17 with the Cleveland Monsters, he scored 12 goals and 23 points in 76 games while being a big part of the team’s penalty kill. There was little chance he would play a big role in the NHL at any point in his career, but there was certainly reason to believe he could contribute at the minor league level if healthy. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore, and he’ll see his contract terminated by the Blackhawks tomorrow.

Jayson Megna Clears Waivers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Thursday: Megna has cleared waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Wednesday: The Washington Capitals have placed Jayson Megna on waivers, though the team announced that they will not loan him to the Hershey Bears right away should he clear. With the season just barely underway, the Capitals are likely hoping they can sneak the forward through the process to give them some added flexibility.

Megna, 28, suited up for just a single NHL game last season with the Vancouver Canucks, instead spending nearly the entire year in the minor leagues with Utica. That’s a familiar feeling for the undrafted forward, who has played many more AHL games than NHL ones in his professional career so far. Still, he may have a chance in Washington this season as the team doesn’t have quite the same center depth and is still pushed right up against the cap. With Tom Wilson’s long suspension landing today, the team will have even less salary flexibility.

That’s where the versatile Megna could come into play, given that he earns just the league minimum on his one-year two-way deal. There’s obviously no reason to believe he could replace a player like Wilson, but he could give them legitimate NHL bottom-six minutes without costing very much. That is of course if he’s not claimed, given that there are several other teams in similar situations.

Montreal Acquires Gustav Olofsson From Minnesota

at CDT | by 3 Comments

After clearing waivers earlier today, Gustav Olofsson is on his way to the Montreal Canadiens organization. The Minnesota Wild have traded the depth defenseman to the Canadiens in exchange for forward Will Bitten. Olofsson will be able to report directly to the Laval Rocket of the AHL.

Olofsson, 23, is a fairly interesting player for the Canadiens, who seem to be collecting young defensemen that were in tough situations when it comes to playing time. With a defense corps that is expected to struggle without Shea Weber for the first half of the season—and perhaps even after he returns—taking chances with players like Olofsson or Brett Kulak makes a lot of sense. There’s no guarantee that Olofsson will make an impact at the NHL level, but with a solid draft pedigree (46th overall in 2013) and 41 games or reasonably reliable defensive play last season there is at least some hope that he will.

Interestingly though they needed to give up Bitten, despite having a chance to claim Olofsson for free. That would have required them to keep the young defenseman on their NHL team or risk him being reclaimed by the Wild at some point, but giving up on a 2016 third-round pick in Bitten is a bit tough to swallow. There’s not elite offensive potential in the 20-year old forward, but few have ever come away from a Bitten viewing without noticing his incredible work ethic and drive. Scoring 64 points in 62 games for the Hamilton Bulldogs last season, Bitten was also one of the more effective defensive forwards in the OHL. That’s not always an indicator for success at the professional level, but the Canadiens now won’t even get the chance to find out.

Canucks Loan Sam Gagner To AHL’s Toronto Marlies

at CDT | by 5 Comments

To add insult to injury, Sam Gagner will not start the 2018-19 with the Vancouver Canucks or with their fellow depth options on their AHL team, the Utica Comets. Gagner, who cleared waivers today, has been loaned to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, the Canucks announced. Vancouver retains the right to recall Gagner, but normally a reassignment like this is an indication that ties have been cut between the player and the organization.

To be clear, this loan is a favor to the veteran forward. While it stings that Gagner, 29, is not in the Canucks’ plans moving forward, they did him the courtesy of sending him home to Toronto, where he and his wife are raising a young family. A reassignment like this is rare, but not unheard of; for the second season in a row, the Buffalo Sabres sent forward Matt Moulson to the Ontario Reign of the AHL, the Los Angeles Kings’ affiliate, to be closer to his family in California. There is no exchange of assets and no financial strings attached in such a move, as Gagner will simply log his AHL minutes for the Marlies instead of the Comets while counting for $2.125 against Vancouver’s salary cap as a buried player, as opposed to his full $3.15MM cap hit.

Gagner was the biggest surprise of this fall’s preseason waiver wire. The talented forward just signed a three-year contract with the Canucks last summer and registered 31 points in 74 games in his first season. His production was not incredible, but it was far from egregious. He managed to maintain a top-nine role and was one of Vancouver’s top shot-producers, with a 6.1% shooting percentage that was the worst of his career and was bound to regress positively. Gagner has proven throughout his up-and-down career to be perhaps the most system-specific player in the NHL. In the right role in the right scheme with the right mix of players, Gagner has been a potent play-maker and offensive asset. He set a career high of 50 points with the Columbus Blue Jackets just two years ago and was a perennial 40+ point player to begin his career with the Edmonton Oilers. Yet, his production tailed off in Edmonton as the team’s composition began to change and he struggled mightily with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2015-16, managing just 16 points. The remains of his current contract are not an attractive attachment, but it still remains a bit of a surprise that Gagner was unclaimed on waivers given his history of having a high scoring ceiling in the right system.

This very well might not be the end for Gagner, though. At just 29, he still has the potential to play for a lot longer. Like Moulson, he very well could be one of the top scorers for his on-loan club but, unlike Moulson, maintains value around the league and could use his minor league performance to his advantage. The defending champion Calder Cup winners will give Gagner the chance to show off his ability and, with or without an uptick in shooting luck, should be able to dominate at the AHL level. Meanwhile, the Canucks would have little reason not to entertain trade offers. Even in a potential trade with retained salary, Vancouver stands to benefit rather than his current cap hit as a buried veteran. Gagner will remain an intriguing name permanently on the trade block until there is a resolution to his current situation.

Four Players Claimed Off Waivers

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Toronto Maple Leafs came into today with some enviable goaltending depth, but will leave it with question marks at the minor league level. The team has lost both Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard on waivers, claimed by the Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers respectively. The Washington Capitals have also claimed Dmitrij Jaskin from the St. Louis Blues, while the Buffalo Sabres, with the first waiver selection and a need for healthy forwards, snatched Remi Elie from the Dallas Stars.

Gustav Olofsson, who was rumored to be available in trade recently, was placed on waivers today by the Minnesota Wild. The rest of the players from yesterday have cleared, and can now be assigned to the minor leagues.

You can bet the Maple Leafs were expecting at least one goaltender to be claimed, given that they chose to protect the younger Garret Sparks over the proven McElhinney when it came to deciding who would backup Frederik Andersen to start the season, but losing both on the same day does weaken their depth at the position quite a bit. That leaves Kasimir Kaskisuo and Eamon McAdam as the only two other goaltenders under contract, though former top pick Justin Peters was in minor league camp with their AHL club recently.

Both Carolina and Philadelphia are dealing with injury to their NHL netminders, with the Hurricanes in particular facing a stretch of “weeks” without Scott Darling. McElhinney will pair with Petr Mrazek for the Hurricanes for the time being, but after Darling is deemed healthy the team will have to deal with a similar situation to the one Toronto had this week. If the Hurricanes or Flyers try to waive McElhinney or Pickard at any point this season, the Maple Leafs could potentially reclaim them and send them directly to the minor leagues—provided they’re the only team making a claim at that time.

Jaskin and Elie may end up being even more important claims, as both provide some excellent depth for their new clubs for a reasonable price. Jaskin was an effective bottom-six checker for the Blues but didn’t have a chair when the music stopped this time around, given the glut of newcomers finding roles in St. Louis. His 17 points in 76 games last season don’t look like a lot, but given the role that he played and the one he’ll be asked to fill in Washington there’s no reason to believe he can’t still be successful.

Elie on the other hand is just 23 years old still and scraping the surface on his potential. The Sabres will hope they can coax out a legitimate third-line winger out of him down the road, but have once again improved their depth at forward without sacrificing much. Elie is signed for just $735K this season and will still be a restricted free agent next summer, and was picked 40th overall just five years ago. With Scott Wilson facing a long rehab after recent surgery, Elie will likely find himself in the lineup before long and given a chance to contribute on the remade Sabres.

Montreal Canadiens Acquire Brett Kulak

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Montreal Canadiens have made a swap for their minor league defense corps, acquiring Brett Kulak from the Calgary Flames in exchange for Matt Taormina and Rinat Valiev. Kulak will report to the Laval Rocket right away, given that he cleared waivers today for the second time this offseason.

The Flames are one of the deepest teams in the league on defense, even after jettisoning Dougie Hamilton this offseason. Bringing Noah Hanifin back in trade has given them another left-handed lock for the roster, and given the continued presence of Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie it didn’t seem like there was much of an opportunity left for Kulak. Further to that, Calgary made it clear what Kulak’s market was when they waived him prior to his arbitration hearing earlier this summer and saw him go unclaimed, only to do it again yesterday. The 24-year old defenseman did play 71 games for the Flames last season, but there obviously weren’t a ton of teams knocking down the door to acquire him given that they could have done it for the small price of taking on his $900K salary.

Montreal is looking for anyone who could help their NHL defense corps down the road, and are obviously willing to take a chance on Kulak ahead of Valiev who they had just acquired last season. The former Toronto Maple Leafs prospect played two games for the Canadiens down the stretch but hasn’t developed into the kind of two-way force that some believed he could be when he was selected 68th overall in 2014. He’ll still be an effective player for the Stockton Heat, but Valiev is quite a distance from being an impact NHL player.

Taormina, the oldest player in the deal at 31, also won’t be impacting the NHL roster for the Flames anytime soon but is an elite offensive defenseman in the minor leagues and has been for a long time. The veteran scored 52 points last season in 63 games for the Rocket and will help to mentor some of the other young defense prospects Calgary has coming through the system but is currently injured and isn’t expected to return until late October at the earliest.

Connor Carrick Traded To Dallas Stars

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced this morning that Connor Carrick would be placed on waivers, but the defenseman never made it there. Instead, he’s been traded to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a conditional 2019 seventh-round pick. That pick will become a sixth-round selection if Carrick plays in 50 games for the Stars this season. There is no salary retained in the deal, meaning Dallas will pick up Carrick’s entire $1.3MM cap hit for 2018-19.

Carrick’s career has slowed considerably over the year, and found himself passed over by several other names in the Maple Leafs depth chart. After suiting up for 73 games for Toronto in the 2016-17 season including all six of their playoff contests against the Washington Capitals, he found himself on the outside looking in quite often last year and was essentially replaced on the roster by Travis Dermott. The only thing that represented some hope for Carrick heading into this season was the lack of depth on the right side for the Maple Leafs, after the departure of Roman Polak—ironically also to the Stars through free agency. Unproven rookie Igor Ozhiganov and 26-year old minor league veteran Justin Holl will start on the Maple Leafs roster as right-handed options now that Carrick has moved on.

Given those who have replaced him in Toronto, one might think that Carrick has struggled mightily to perform at the NHL level. That’s not necessarily true given his excellent possession statistics and reasonable point production last season, but detractors will point to his extremely sheltered usage under head coach Mike Babcock as a reason to believe he won’t be able to handle an increased role. Still, Carrick is just 24 years old and has put up huge numbers at the minor league level in the Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals organization, and should be given a chance to succeed in Dallas this season.

Interestingly, Carrick would seem to objectively carry more value to an organization than fellow depth defenseman Jakub Jerabek, but was able to fetch the Maple Leafs less than the sixth-round pick acquired this morning by the Edmonton Oilers in their trade of the latter. Though Carrick does carry a slightly larger cap hit—Jerabek’s one-year contract is worth just $1MM—he also will still be a restricted free agent next summer and provide another option for the Stars. Polak and Marc Methot are currently scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on July 1, 2019 and could be allowed to walk if Carrick can show his potential was never fully reached in Toronto.

Where he’ll fit into the Dallas lineup isn’t clear at present. Playing exclusively on the right side in Toronto, Carrick seemingly enters a depth chart behind other established options like John Klingberg, Stephen Johns and Polak. Julius Honka still hasn’t been able to lock up a full-time role with the Stars, but also represents a right-handed option for the team going forward. Still, for the cost of a seventh round pick the team will be able to take a first hand look at Carrick and see if they can squeeze any NHL performance out of him over the season. If they can’t, there isn’t a huge loss if they have to try to sneak him through waivers once again.

Sam Gagner Highlights Final Preseason Waivers

at CDT | by 2 Comments

With the NHL season set to begin on Wednesday night, today was the final day to place players on waivers and have them clear in time to assign to the minor leagues before tomorrow’s roster deadline. With that, a huge list of players are on the wire and available to the rest of the league. The full list of names is as follows:

D Trevor Murphy (ARZ)
D David Warsofsky (COL)
D Mark Alt (COL)
F Alex Broadhurst (CBJ)
F Remi Elie (DAL)
F Justin Dowling (DAL)
D Joel Hanley (DAL)
D Ryan Murphy (MIN)
F Rocco Grimaldi (NSH)
F Tom Kuhnhackl (NYI)
F Dale Weise (PHI)
F Taylor Leier (PHI)
G Antoine Bibeau (SJS)
F Dmitrij Jaskin (STL)
F Chris Thorburn (STL)
G Curtis McElhinney (TOR)
G Calvin Pickard (TOR)
F Sam Gagner (VAN)
F Darren Archibald (VAN)
F Daniel Carr (VGK)
F Curtis McKenzie (VGK)
D Aaron Ness (WSH)

D Connor Carrick (TOR)*

*Despite the Toronto Maple Leafs announcing that Carrick would be placed on waivers, the team actually traded him to the Dallas Stars instead. 

Anaheim Ducks Claim Pontus Aberg

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Anaheim Ducks have claimed forward Pontus Aberg off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Aberg was a somewhat surprising inclusion yesterday, given that he was only acquired in February and had put up eight points in 16 games down the stretch with Edmonton. Some had hoped he could develop into a secondary scoring option for the Oilers this season, but with the additions of Tobias Rieder and Kyle Brodziak this summer, along with likely full-time graduations for some of the organization’s younger players, there wasn’t enough room for Aberg any longer.

That means the 25-year old forward will get his next chance in Anaheim, where the Ducks are desperately trying to find offense after Corey Perry’s recent injury and the decline of some of their other weapons. Selected 37th overall by the Nashville Predators in 2012, Aberg has shown elite scoring ability in the minor leagues and has flashed NHL potential at times including a solid performance in the 2017 postseason. It’s not clear exactly where he’ll fit into Anaheim’s lineup, but is a worthwhile addition at this point in the year.

Anaheim will assume the $650K cap hit of Aberg for this season, after which he will become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. It’s a big year for him to prove he can cut it in the NHL, and should get at least some opportunity to do just that with the Ducks.

Toronto Maple Leafs Place Three On Waivers

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Though the full list of waivers won’t come out for another hour, the Toronto Maple Leafs have announced their final few cuts. The team has placed Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard on waivers in order to send them to the minor leagues. The move signals that Garret Sparks has won the job as backup to Frederik Andersen, and several other players on the bubble like Igor Ozhiganov, Martin Marincin, Justin Holl and Frederik Gauthier will all start the year with the NHL team.

Interestingly the team also announced that Connor Carrick would be placed on waivers, though his name was not included on the list submitted to the NHL. That’s because he was later traded to the Dallas Stars for a conditional seventh-round pick.

In keeping Sparks with the NHL club, the team has seemingly handed over the backup role to a younger player with more potential, albeit one that may come with more risk. McElhinney has performed incredibly well for the Maple Leafs since being claimed from the Columbus Blue Jackets, but is now 35 years old and likely will be seeing a decline before long. Sparks, 25, is coming off an AHL Goaltender of the Year award and a Calder Cup with the Toronto Marlies, and would almost certainly be claimed by a goaltending-needy team somewhere around the league. That same thing may happen with the veteran McElhinney or Pickard, who also has plenty of NHL experience and is still young enough to have a bit of upside remaining.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top