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Minnesota Wild Place Vinni Lettieri, Jacob Lucchini On Waivers

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The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli is reporting that the Minnesota Wild have placed forwards Vinni Lettieri and Jake Lucchini on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Iowa. Both players have spent time in both Minnesota and Iowa this season.

Both Lettieri and Lucchini have surpassed their previous records of games played during a single season throughout their careers this year with the Wild. With multiple injuries up and down the lineup for the organization this year, Lettieri and Lucchini have both had the opportunity for more playing time at the NHL level.

Letteri has suited up in 32 games for Minnesota this season, averaging just under 10 minutes a game, scoring three goals and seven points overall. Suiting up in 10 games for Iowa earlier in the season, Lettieri played very well, scoring four goals and eight points in his limited time with the team.

In Lucchini, he has spent much more time in the AHL this season as compared to Lettieri. In 30 games for Iowa, Lucchini has scored 11 goals and 23 points overall, still sitting fifth on the team in scoring. At the NHL level, Lucchini has been able to play in 21 games for the Wild, scoring one goal and one assist in total while averaging just under nine minutes of ice time per night.

Calgary Flames Claim Joel Hanley Off Waivers

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The Calgary Flames have claimed defenseman Joel Hanley off waivers from the Dallas Stars, per a team announcement. In now his 9th season in the NHL, Hanley has spent the last six years of his career in Texas.

Less than a week after trading pending unrestricted free agent Chris Tanev to the Stars, the General Manager of the Flames, Craig Conroy, has added a Stars defenseman to their arsenal. Primarily used as an extra defenseman throughout his tenure in Dallas, Hanley will now have the opportunity for more playing time, especially as Calgary continues to move out expiring pieces from the organization’s blue line.

A defensive defenseman through and through, Hanley has suited up in 32 games for the Stars this season, tallying three assists in the process. Averaging over 13 minutes a night for the fourth time in his career, Hanley regularly averages one blocked shot and one hit a game.

Until more trades are made in Calgary, Hanley will likely suit up on the bottom-pairing alongside fellow waiver claim, Brayden Pachal. Furthermore, Hanley may be able to replace either Noah Hanifin or Oliver Kylington on the left side of the team’s penalty-killing units if either is moved out before the trade deadline.

Washington Capitals Claim Matthew Phillips Off Waivers

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The Washington Capitals have reclaimed forward Matthew Phillips off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. After spending 18 days with the Penguins organization, Phillips will return to Washington.

Signing a one-year, $775K contract with the Capitals on July 2nd last summer, Phillips was looking for a fresh start with a new organization. Unable to make his way up the depth chart with the Calgary Flames, Phillips was able to crack Washington’s active roster after an impressive preseason performance.

In his first four games with the Capitals, Phillips got off to a quick start, scoring one goal and three points overall. Unfortunately, in his next 23 games for Washington, Phillips was only been able to muster two assists, leading to his placement on waivers by the team only a few weeks ago.

Only suiting up in three games for Pittsburgh, the Capitals will now have the ability to send Phillips down to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, without having to place him back on waivers. As they attempt to defend their Calder Cup title, the Bears are well positioned to repeat, sitting in first place across the league in the AHL standings by a margin of 13 points.

Vancouver Canucks Place Guillaume Brisebois On Waivers

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed defenseman Guillaume Brisebois on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Abbotsford. Brisebois has been on the team’s long-term injured reserve for the entirety of the season after suffering a lower-body injury during training camp.

Drafted 66th overall by the Canucks organization back in the 2015 NHL Draft, injuries have prohibited Brisebois from becoming a full-time member of Vancouver’s defensive core. With month-long injuries keeping him out of action in 2021 and 2022, this recent injury to Brisebois has kept him away from the organization for five months.

Only accruing 27 NHL games under his belt in the last six seasons, Brisebois has been much more of a fixture in Vancouver’s AHL affiliates, playing for both the Utica Comets and Abbotsford Canucks over his career. In 241 games played for the Canucks’ AHL affiliates, Brisebois has scored 14 goals and 60 points overall, while also tallying one assist in seven career playoff games.

Although concern for another injury is at an all-time high for Brisebois, there may still be an avenue for him to become a depth defenseman in Vancouver. With limited cap-space mobility, the Canucks currently have four defensemen set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1st, which may give Brisebois a pathway to make the full-time jump to the NHL.

Edmonton Oilers Place Sam Gagner On Waivers

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The Edmonton Oilers have placed forward Sam Gagner on waivers for assignment to AHL Bakersfield, according to a team announcement. Gagner is now in his third stint with the Oilers after signing a one-year, $775K contract with the organization back on October 31st.

Nearing the end of his career, Gagner is on his fourth straight contract paying him under $1MM a season. Primarily used as nothing more than a bottom-six forward, Gagner continues to add decent value to whichever organization he finds himself in.

In his last full season back in 2021-22 with the Detroit Red Wings, Gagner put together a 13-goal, 31-point performance over 81 games, finishing seventh on the team in scoring while playing on a one-year, $850K contract. However, it was not enough to earn him a raise on the free agent market, as Gagner had to wait until September 2nd to sign a one-year league minimum contract with the Winnipeg Jets.

Unfortunately, Gagner was used sparingly by the Jets as he only averaged a little more than 12 minutes of ice time per game. Scoring eight goals and 14 points in 48 games, Gagner had his season cut short on March 16th after going down with a hip injury.

Now back in Edmonton for the first time since the 2019-20 season, Gagner got off to a hot start, scoring five goals and 10 points in his first 20 games. Unfortunately, Gagner has now gone scoreless in his last seven games, seeing his average ice time drop by a full minute. With 12 other forwards currently on the active roster, the Oilers are likely preferring more cap space leading up to the deadline rather than Gagner’s recent play.

Penguins Place Matthew Phillips On Waivers

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The Penguins placed forward Matthew Phillips on waivers Monday for the purposes of assignment to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

This is Phillips’ second time on waivers this season. He’s been claimed once, heading to Pittsburgh from the Capitals last month.

Once an AHL standout in the Flames organization, Phillips has struggled to adapt in his first shot at a full-time NHL role this season. He had one goal and four assists in 27 games with Washington before landing on waivers, and he was a healthy scratch in five straight games for the Penguins after making three consecutive appearances post-claim. He didn’t record a point in Pittsburgh and averaged 11:20 per game, slightly up from his 10:16 average with Washington.

Phillips, 25, inked a one-year, one-way deal with the Caps last summer. He was coming off a second straight AHL season in which he produced over a point per game, notching 36 goals and 76 points in 66 games with the Calgary Wranglers in 2022-23. It appears unlikely he’ll be claimed off waivers a second time this season after failing to impress with two organizations, although he could get a chance to rebuild his value with a strong stretch of play in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Phillips will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at the end of the season, although it seems unlikely Pittsburgh will issue him a qualifying offer to retain his rights. The Calgary native was a sixth-round pick of the Flames in 2016.

Kings Sign, Waive Aaron Dell

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3/5: The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that Dell has successfully cleared waivers, meaning that Los Angeles can assign the goaltender to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.

3/4: The Kings placed veteran goaltender Aaron Dell on waivers Monday, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He was not signed to an NHL contract, so the news means the Kings have signed him to what’s likely a one-year, two-way contract to ride out the season. Friedman later confirmed it was a two-way deal.

Dell, 34, attended training camp with the Blue Jackets on a professional tryout contract but was not signed. After sitting unsigned for the first few months of the season, Dell signed another unsuccessful PTO with the Hurricanes, during which he represented Canada at the Spengler Cup with a .906 SV% and 2.59 GAA in four games.

Finally, Dell found somewhere to get professional playing time in January, signing a tryout with the AHL’s Ontario Reign, the Kings’ primary affiliate. He’s logged five appearances there over the past few weeks, posting a .906 SV% and 2.63 GAA with a 2-3-0 record. He logged his first shutout of the season on Friday, making 24 stops in a 3-0 win over the San Diego Gulls.

With Pheonix Copley done for the season after injuring his ACL in December, Dell sits fourth on the Kings’ goaltending depth chart behind Cam Talbot, David Rittich, and top prospect Erik Portillo. The Kings acquired the signing rights to the former University of Michigan standout in a trade with the Sabres last March, and he’s responded with a sparkling .923 SV%, 2.38 GAA, two shutouts, and a 16-8-3 record in 28 games for the Reign.

Dell provides L.A. with a more veteran option in case of an injury to either Rittich or Talbot if they so choose. An undrafted free agent signing by the Sharks out of the ECHL in 2015, Dell has worked his way up the ranks to make 106 starts and 24 relief appearances over a seven-year career with San Jose, the Devils, and the Sabres. He has a 50-50-13 record with five shutouts, a 2.92 GAA, and .905 SV%.

Stars To Place Joel Hanley On Waivers

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The Stars will place veteran defenseman Joel Hanley on waivers today at 1 p.m. CT with intent to assign him to AHL Texas, head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters (via Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine).

Hanley, 32, has been a healthy scratch in two straight upon the returns of Jani Hakanpää and Nils Lundkvist from injuries. With the pending availability of Chris Tanev after his visa issues post-trade from Calgary get resolved, Hanley was relegated to the eighth slot on the Stars’ defensive depth chart.

DeBoer confirmed Hanley’s demotion is salary cap-related, not performance-based. He’s been a solid stabilizing presence at the bottom of the Dallas lineup since joining the team in 2018, memorably factoring into an unexpected lineup spot in the Stars’ run to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.

The Stars haven’t attempted to assign Hanley to the minors since before the pandemic, keeping him around as a full-time extra for the past four years. He’s skated in 32 games for the Stars this year, recording three assists and a +3 rating while averaging 13:41 per game. He’s also boasted strong possession numbers, recording a 55.1 CF% at even strength and a +0.6 expected rating.

Teams will have 24 hours to submit a claim for Hanley, who could find a new home on a team looking for quality, cheap defensive depth down the stretch. Hanley is signed to a two-year deal carrying a $787.5K cap hit and will be a UFA in 2025, so any team picking him up will get his services next season as well.

Clearing Hanley’s cap hit, either via losing him on waivers or assigning him to Texas, will take the Stars out of LTIR and give them the necessary cap space to activate winger Evgenii Dadonov when he’s ready to return. It also offers Dallas room to recall and keep rookie forward Logan Stankoven, who’s impressed with three goals and an assist through his first five NHL games, on the roster longer-term.

Capitals’ Evgeny Kuznetsov Clears Waivers, Loaned To AHL

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3/3: Kuznetsov has officially cleared waivers and been loaned to the AHL’s Hershey Bears, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, who shares that Kuznetsov is one of the league’s highest-salaried players of all time.

3/2: Earlier today, Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov was cleared to resume practicing with the team and has entered the follow-up phase of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, per a league announcement.  However, he won’t be getting that opportunity as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Washington has placed the veteran on waivers.

Notably, Kuznetsov has not been cleared to return to game action through the program yet which makes the timing of this placement a little surprising.  The 31-year-old entered the Player Assistance Program last month and hadn’t been counting against Washington’s books since then; that will be changing and his $7.8MM AAV will soon be back on their books.

In his prime, Kuznetsov was a legitimate top-line center and even just two years ago, he was hanging around the point-per-game mark.  However, his production dipped from 78 points to 55 points last season and this year, the drop-off has been even sharper.  Despite seeing his average ice time go up from a year ago, Kuznetsov has been limited to just six goals and 11 assists in 43 games with Washington while logging a little under 19 minutes a night.  Those numbers won’t be going up anytime soon as a result of this placement.

Kuznetsov has one year left on his contract after this one at that $7.8MM price tag so it’s hard to envision a scenario where he gets claimed.  Assuming he clears waivers on Sunday at 1 PM CT, he can be assigned to AHL Hershey, a move that would free up a pro-rated $1.15MM in salary cap space.

Speaking with reporters following the placement including Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press (Twitter link), GM Brian MacLellan indicated that this move is about getting Kuznetsov a fresh start.  With a waiver claim being unlikely, that fresh start will either have to come through a trade or buyout.

Washington could look to move Kuznetsov where they could retain up to 50% of his cap hit and salary, a move that might get them some takers as a low-risk flyer.  If that doesn’t happen, buying Kuznetsov out would cost $3.8MM against the cap next season and $2MM in 2025-26.  With the buyout charge and cost at 50% retention being pretty much the same for 2024-25, it wouldn’t be surprising to see MacLellan push to get something done on the trade front with the buyout being a last resort.  Either way, it looks like Kuznetsov’s time with the Capitals is about to be over.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Philadelphia Flyers’ Cal Petersen Clears Waivers

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2/29: Petersen has cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

2/28: The Flyers placed netminder Cal Petersen on waivers Wednesday, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

It’s been a tumultuous first season in Philadelphia for Petersen, who failed to make the Flyers out of camp but shuffled frequently between leagues in November and December with then-starter Carter Hart battling illness and injuries. He’s been rostered as the backup to Samuel Ersson over the past month after Hart took leave from the team to surrender to London, Ontario, police in connection with sexual assault charges against him and four other members of the 2018 Canadian national junior team.

This is Petersen’s second time on waivers this season, passing through unclaimed at the beginning of October when the Flyers assigned him to AHL Lehigh Valley to start the season. The 29-year-old once looked like the goalie of the future for the Kings, but they were forced to trade him, and his $5MM cap hit to Philadelphia last summer to clear cap space after a disastrous showing last year that saw him sent to the minors a few months into the season.

Things haven’t changed for Petersen in the City of Brotherly Love, as he’s been borderline unplayable through four starts and one relief appearance. While he has a 2-2-0 record, he’s posted a .864 SV% and 3.90 GAA, slightly worse than last year’s numbers with Los Angeles that got him demoted for the first time since 2020. His last appearance was Sunday’s 7-6 loss to the Penguins, in which he allowed all seven goals on 32 shots.

As such, he’s nearly guaranteed to pass through waivers again. The Flyers can give him a non-roster designation over the next 24 hours if they need a roster spot, otherwise, he can be assigned to Lehigh Valley and his cap hit can be reduced to $3.85MM after 1 p.m. CT tomorrow.

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