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Avalanche Reassign Fredrik Olofsson

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Feb. 26: Colorado waited a day to do it, but they’ve officially assigned Olofsson to the minors, per a team announcement. They’re left with one open spot on the 23-man roster.

Feb. 25: Olofsson cleared waivers Sunday and can be assigned to the AHL, Friedman reports.

Feb. 24: The Avalanche placed left wing Fredrik Olofsson on waivers Saturday for the purposes of assignment to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

With no pending IR activations or corresponding roster moves, this is likely a performance-based demotion for the 27-year-old. He was a healthy scratch in Thursday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Red Wings and is mired in a 12-game pointless streak.

If he clears waivers Sunday, assigning Olofsson to the minors will trim the Avalanche roster to 22 and create $775K in cap space. This is the first time he has been sent down in nearly a year; he was last assigned to the AHL on Mar. 5, 2023, when he was a member of the Dallas Stars, and was recalled the next day.

Olofsson has three goals, six assists, nine points, and a -3 rating in 55 games for Colorado after they acquired his signing rights from Dallas in June 2023 and subsequently signed him to a one-year, two-way contract. A fourth-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2014, Olofsson never signed with Chicago and only made his NHL debut last season after signing with the Stars in free agency.

While he was valuable in a fourth-line shutdown role for Dallas in 28 games, he hasn’t provided the same value to the Avs. Averaging 9:53 per game, Olofsson has a 39% faceoff win rate, a Corsi-for percentage at even strength of 45.8, and an expected rating of -1.6. He’s been tasked more at center in Colorado than in Dallas, potentially contributing to his significantly reduced possession impacts.

Without Olofsson, 32-year-old Chris Wagner is centering Colorado’s fourth line between enforcer Kurtis MacDermid and former Star Joel Kiviranta. Wagner has no points in three games after missing the first three months of the season while rehabbing an Achilles injury. He spent most of the last two months on assignment with the Eagles, readjusting to game pace, posting three goals and seven points in 11 games.

Olofsson will be paid at a $300K salary rate while in the minors, and his minimum guaranteed salary this season is $350K. He will be a UFA this summer.

Coyotes Waive Adam Ružička For Purposes Of Contract Termination

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Feb. 24, 1:04 p.m.: Ružička cleared waivers Saturday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. The Coyotes will now terminate his contract. The NHLPA has 60 days to file a grievance on his behalf.

Feb. 23, 1:09 p.m.: In a statement Friday, the Coyotes confirmed they placed Ružička on unconditional waivers and will terminate his contract if he clears. The team declined to comment on the reasoning.

Feb. 23, 1:04 p.m.: Ružička is on waivers today, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic confirms. Teams will have 24 hours to issue a claim for the remainder of his $762.5K cap hit deal, which expires this summer. If he passes through unclaimed, he will have his contract terminated by the Coyotes on Saturday.

Feb. 23, 12:41 p.m.: The Coyotes are expected to place forward Adam Ružička on waivers Friday for the purposes of contract termination, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Friedman’s report comes hours after a screen recording began circulating on social media of Ružička’s Instagram story, which showed a video of him next to an unidentified white powdered substance. It is unclear if the video spurred the beginning of the termination process or if this is a mutual termination for Ružička to find other playing opportunities as a UFA.

In 2019, responding to an IIHF suspension handed down to Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov for a positive cocaine test, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed that cocaine is “not a Prohibited Substance under the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.” If the unidentified substance shown with Ružička is cocaine, and he has his contract terminated with Arizona as a result, he will likely not be subject to further discipline by the league based on precedent. Under league policy, cocaine is considered “a drug of abuse that is tested for and for which intervention, evaluation and mandatory treatment can occur in appropriate cases,” Daly said.

Ružička, 24, was claimed off waivers by the Coyotes from the Flames on Jan. 25. Work visa issues and multiple healthy scratches limited him to three appearances in Arizona, in which he recorded no points, a -1 rating, and one shot on goal while averaging 8:17 per game. A fourth-round pick of Calgary in 2017, Ružička has 14 goals, 26 assists, and 40 points in 117 NHL games since his debut in 2021.

Lightning Place Alex Barre-Boulet On Waivers

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Feb. 23: Barre-Boulet cleared waivers on Friday, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Lightning may now assign him to AHL Syracuse at their discretion.

Feb. 22: The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed forward Alex Barre-Boulet on waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. This move corresponds with their recalling of Cole Koepke this morning. Barre-Boulet has appeared in 36 games with Tampa this season, scoring six goals and nine points. It’s the first time that the 26-year-old has played in 20 or more NHL games in one season, with much of his career being spent in the minor leagues up to this point.

Barre-Boulet has earned an NHL role after an explosive season in the AHL last year that saw him score 24 goals and 84 points in 69 games. That mark ranked second among all AHL skaters in scoring, just one point behind Arizona Coyote Michael Carcone, who managed 31 goals and 85 points in 65 games. Barre-Boulet’s career-high productivity last year maintained a trend of scoring he’s established in the minors, totaling 283 points across 271 career AHL games.

This includes 68 points, split evenly, in 74 games during the 2018-19 season, Barre-Boulet’s first season as a pro. No AHL rookie has topped his rookie year production, though Buffalo Sabres forward John-Jason Peterka managed to tie the scoring in four fewer games in 2021-22. But unlike Peterka, who has 19 goals and 37 points in 56 NHL games this season, Barre-Boulet has yet to find his scoring groove at the top level. He’s managed just 18 points in his first 68 career games, dating back to his debut in the 2020-21 season.

Barre-Boulet is no stranger to waivers, with this move marking the fifth time he’s been waived in his career. He’s also not a stranger to changing teams as a result, joining the Seattle Kraken as a waiver claim for a brief two games before the Kraken waived him as well and Tampa reclaimed him.

Canadiens Claim Colin White, Assign Brandon Gignac To AHL

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Feb. 23: Gignac cleared waivers Friday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. The AHL’s Laval Rocket confirmed that Gignac had been reassigned to them by Montreal.

Feb. 22: The Montreal Canadiens have claimed forward Colin White off of waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team has placed Brandon Gignac on waivers in order to make space for White’s arrival. This move marks a reunion between White and general manager Kent Hughes, who represented White as a player agent before moving into a team role.

White will be moving to his fourth NHL franchise with this move, after just 11 games with the Penguins. The 27-year-old centerman signed a one-year, two-way, $775K contract with the Penguins before the season, earning the deal after signing a professional try-out. But his only scoring this season has come in the AHL, where he’s scored 10 points, split evenly, in 21 games. White was placed on waivers on October 8th and remained in the minor leagues until January 13th.

White has fallen a long way since being drafted 21st overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. He lived up to the high selection quickly, scoring 76 points across 72 games with Boston College before playing his rookie season in the 2018-19 season. And he looked the part in his rookie season as well, scoring 14 goals and 41 points in 71 games. But he has only broken 20 points one time since then, seeing a gradual decrease in his production every season since. He will likely step immediately into the Montreal lineup, in place of Gignac who was operating as the team’s fourth-line center, though injuries to Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Christian Dvorak could offer a chance for White to see expanded opportunity.

Montreal faces the Penguins on Thursday evening, giving White the rare chance for a revenge game on the same day as his team-change. The Canadiens also have Michael Pezzetta recalled to the NHL roster, offering depth in the event that White isn’t ready to go. Either way, he’ll kick off his search for the first point of his season, and his Canadiens career, when he slots into the lineup.

Sharks Assign Jacob MacDonald To AHL

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Feb. 21: MacDonald cleared waivers Wednesday, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. The Sharks subsequently assigned him to the Barracuda, per a team announcement.

Feb. 20: The San Jose Sharks have placed defenseman Jacob MacDonald on waivers, per a report from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Not only will this mark MacDonald’s first waiver placement of the season, but also represents the first time the Sharks have attempted to move MacDonald down to their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.

A versatile player for the Sharks, MacDonald will more than likely offer the same versatility to the Barracuda in the coming days as they stay committed in their playoff hunt. Over 22 games for the Sharks this year, MacDonald has scored six goals and seven points overall while averaging a touch over 12 minutes of ice time per game.

Even though he’s played in about half as many games as his peers on the roster, MacDonald sits tied for eighth on the team in total goals and tied for third on the team in powerplay goals. Due to the playing time he has been offered in San Jose, MacDonald has scored 13 points over 47 games with the Sharks, two more points than he achieved with the Colorado Avalanche, even with 27 more games played.

At the AHL level, MacDonald has produced at a solid rate, scoring 68 goals and 121 assists over 271 career games. If he does clear waivers, it will mark his first action in the AHL since the 2021-22 season, when he scored 10 goals and 25 points in 33 games for the Colorado Eagles.

Chicago Blackhawks Place Zach Sanford On Waivers

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Feb. 21: Sanford passed through waivers unclaimed, Friedman reports Wednesday.

Feb. 20: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Chicago Blackhawks have placed forward Zach Sanford on waivers for the purpose of reassignment to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. It will not be the first time that Sanford has found himself on the waiver wire this season; he originally came to Chicago by way of a waiver claim from the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 6th.

Serving as organizational depth in Arizona, Sanford was brought to the Blackhawks organization for the same purpose. During a stretch in January, Chicago experienced a plethora of injuries up and down their roster, creating a need for a viable injury replacement to eat minutes.

With the organization now returning to some semblance of a healthy roster, the Blackhawks no longer required Sanford at the bottom of their roster. Over 15 games in Chicago, Sanford averaged 11:45 a night, tallying three assists overall.

Although Sanford can no longer be relied upon as a regular bottom-six option for most teams, the number of organizations now experiencing injury concerns may lead Sanford to his third organization of the year. Already claimed on waivers once this season, a team like the Vegas Golden Knights or San Jose Sharks could use Sanford’s services to eat minutes while their other players return to health.

Penguins Place Colin White On Waivers

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The Penguins placed forward Colin White on waivers Wednesday for the purpose of assignment to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

White, 27, has no points in 11 games since Pittsburgh recalled him from WBS on Jan. 13. The former Senators and Panthers forward played less than 10 minutes in each of his last two games and was likely to come out of the lineup with Noel Acciari expected to return from a concussion tomorrow against the Canadiens.

The 2015 first-round pick signed a PTO with the Penguins after being cut loose by Florida after their run to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. A decent training camp resulted in him earning a one-year, two-way deal worth $775K in the NHL and $500K in the minors, but he did not crack the team’s opening night roster and was waived prior to the start of the season.

White remained with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for over three months, underwhelming on the scoresheet with five goals, 10 points and a -2 rating in 21 games. It was his first AHL action since a one-game conditioning stint in the 2019-20 campaign after holding down a fourth-line role with the Panthers for much of last season.

Given his performance, it’s unlikely White will get claimed off waivers, and it’s looking additionally unlikely that he’ll receive an extension from the Penguins before reaching UFA status this summer. He’s still getting paid $875K per season by the Senators, who bought out the last three seasons of his six-year, $28.5MM contract in 2022, for the next four years.

Detroit Red Wings Place Matt Luff On Waivers

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2/19: TSN’s Chris Johnston is reporting that Luff has successfully cleared waivers, and is now finally able to start his season with the Griffins.

2/18: The Detroit Red Wings have placed forward Matt Luff on waivers for the purpose of reassignment to their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Signing a one-year, $775K contract with the Red Wings this past offseason, Luff has yet to play in any games for the organization this season, suffering an injury back in training camp.

Considering the injury history for much of the regular season, it is more than likely that Luff will pass through waivers unscathed, and make his way to Grand Rapids in short order. Although he managed nearly 20 games for Detroit last season, it will be much more difficult for Luff to crack this version of the Red Wings roster.

In those 19 games last season, Luff was a depth player for Detroit, averaging just under 10 minutes of ice time per game, scoring two goals and four points overall. In the AHL, Luff did manage 28 games for the Griffins last year, tying for sixth on the team in scoring with eight goals and 25 points.

Having one of their better seasons over the last several years, Grand Rapids is in the midst of a hotly contested playoff race in the Central Division. Sitting 24th in the league in goals for, Luff’s offensive capabilities in the AHL should help the Griffins improve in one area of weakness for the club.

Boston Bruins Place Oskar Steen On Waivers

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2/19: Chris Johnston of TSN reports that Steen has successfully cleared waivers and is now able to safely report to AHL Providence.

2/18: Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Boston Bruins have placed forward Oskar Steen on waivers for the purpose of reassignment to their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. In the move, the Bruins will be able to parse their roster down to 22 players, one shy of the 23-man limit.

Unless claimed by another organization over the next 24 hours, Steen is likely headed for Providence, allowing the Bruins to call up a younger player such as John Beecher or Mason Lohrei to round out their roster. Recently overtaken by the Florida Panthers as the top team in the Eastern Conference, Boston may feel injecting youth into the lineup could give the team a boost over the home stretch.

For Steen in particular, it will be hard for him to find many positives coming out of this season for the Bruins. In 34 games played, Steen has averaged 9:04 a night, managing only one goal over the year. He has been physical and largely sound defensively, but he certainly was not earning a roster spot over a younger option.

It will not be the first time Steen has been sent down this year, as he was regularly shuffled in October and November. With his last call-up coming on November 17th, his passage through waivers became a requirement to get him back to Providence.

Because of his taxiing earlier in the season, Steen has only totaled five games for Providence, scoring two goals and five points overall. Thankfully, he will once again be finding himself in a playoff race in the AHL, as Providence holds a 29-15-3-2 record, good for second place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division.

Penguins Claim Matthew Phillips Off Waivers From Capitals

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The Penguins claimed forward Matthew Phillips off waivers from the Capitals on Friday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

Washington placed Phillips, 25, on waivers yesterday after making him a healthy scratch in 15 of their last 16 games. The undersized winger had one goal and four assists in 27 appearances with the Caps after signing a one-year, one-way deal worth $775K last summer upon reaching Group VI free agency.

A member of the Flames organization for more than half a decade after they selected him in the sixth round of the 2016 draft, Phillips developed into one of the best players at the AHL level over the past two seasons. He posted back-to-back seasons above a point per game with their affiliates in Stockton and Calgary in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and produced at a top-six pace for a pair of campaigns prior.

His 5-foot-7, 140-lb frame was always going to make life difficult for him in the NHL, however. He got off to a strong start this season, posting three points in his first four games, but he hasn’t recorded a point in over two months and has a poor 43.1% Corsi share at even strength.

Pittsburgh takes a chance on him with four regular forwards out of the lineup due to injuries – Noel Acciari, Jake Guentzel, Jansen Harkins, and Matthew Nieto. Despite his struggles this season, Phillips is a higher-ceiling scoring option than most of the minor-league call-ups they have occupying bottom-six roles in their absence, and he carries little to no financial impact on their deadline plans with a league-minimum cap hit.

The Penguins will maintain control of Phillips’ signing rights this offseason, as he’ll be an RFA with arbitration rights when his contract expires.

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