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Zach Bogosian Clears Unconditional Waivers

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Saturday: Bogosian has cleared waivers as expected, reports Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic which will pave the way for his release.  TSN’s Darren Dreger suggests that Toronto, Carolina, Winnipeg, and Pittsburgh will be among those interested in him as a free agent.

Friday, 10:55am: The Sabres have confirmed the placement of Bogosian on unconditional waivers, and their intention on terminating his contract.

9:45am: After failing to report to the Rochester Americans earlier this month, Zach Bogosian was suspended without pay by the Buffalo Sabres. That took him off the books in regards to the team’s cap, but still didn’t solve anything for the player. According to Darren Dreger of TSN, Bogosian will now be placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination. While that will void the remaining money on his current contract, it does make Bogosian an unrestricted free agent and able to sign with another team.

The timing of this is important, as Bogosian would need a new contract filed with the league before the trade deadline in order to be eligible for the playoffs. It’s hard to know exactly who might be interested, though Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Toronto Maple Leafs “at least checked in.”

The 29-year old Bogosian became a regular healthy scratch for the Sabres this season after a career marred by injury. Selected third overall in 2008 he has only played more than 71 games in a season on one occasion, and has just 194 points in 636 games. The 6’3″ defenseman currently carries a $5.14MM cap hit that will be terminated tomorrow, should the process go smoothly.

Detroit Red Wings Claim Cody Goloubef Off Waivers

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The Detroit Red Wings have added some NHL experience today, claiming Cody Goloubef off waivers from the Ottawa Senators according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. Brian Lashoff will be returned to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins in a corresponding move.

Goloubef, 30, will at least give the Red Wings a body to use on the back end down the stretch, especially if they trade off some of their other expiring pieces. He won’t bring a lot of upside, but 158 games at the NHL level is more than some of the other players the team has run out there this season.

For Ottawa, the defensive cupboard is looking awfully thin. The team has just five healthy bodies at the NHL level and four players in the minor leagues eligible for recall. If things get really dire the team could bring Olle Alsing back from Sweden, but there may be other moves in the works in Ottawa.

Cody Goloubef Placed On Waivers

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Along with Louis Domingue, who is being held out by the New Jersey Devils, Cody Goloubef has been placed on waivers today. The Ottawa Senators defenseman has played fewer than ten minutes in three of his last four games.

Goloubef, 30, has played in 23 games this season with the Senators, averaging just over 15 minutes a night and recording two points. The former Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman is just depth at this point and given his expiring contract could potentially even be trade bait in the coming days.

Placing a player on waivers sometimes can increase their value at the deadline, as an acquiring team could immediately stash them in the minor leagues. Whether that is the plan with Goloubef isn’t clear, especially given that the Senators may want to just hand over some minutes to their young defense.

Cole Bardreau, Taylor Leier Clear Waivers

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Both Cole Bardreau and Taylor Leier have cleared waivers, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. The New York Islanders had placed Bardreau on waivers after acquiring Andy Greene over the weekend, while Leier had to clear in order to stay in the minor leagues after signing an NHL contract with the Buffalo Sabres.

Bardreau, 26, made his NHL debut this season after toiling in the minor leagues for several years. The Cornell grad had two points in ten games for the Islanders, but was never expected to spend the rest of the season on the active roster. After clearing waivers in September, he needed to clear again to be sent back to the minor leagues.

Leier meanwhile is just celebrating a new NHL contract, signed yesterday with the Sabres after settling for an AHL deal in the summer. He became a group VI unrestricted free agent in July after failing to get a full-time opportunity with the Philadelphia Flyers, suiting up just 55 times in the NHL through his first four professional seasons. The fourth-round pick can be called up at any point by the Sabres, but will stay in Rochester for the moment.

Ottawa Senators Claim Jayce Hawryluk Off Waivers

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There seemed to be a fair amount of anticipation that now-former Florida Panthers forward Jayce Hawryluk would be claimed off waivers today. The 24-year-old has struggled with injury setbacks this season and has been unable to carve out a role for himself in Florida, but was a point-per-game player in the AHL last season before being called up an playing at a 24-point pace in the second half of the season with the Panthers. It seems that the expectations that teams would look beyond this season and grab Hawryluk for his previous displays of potential were well-founded. The young forward only lasted until the No. 3 waiver priority, as the Ottawa Senators announced that they have claimed Hawryluk.

The Senators are again heading toward a trade deadline in which they are expected to move a number of roster players. By claiming Hawryluk, the team adds a young player who can move into a regular role in the place of some of those absences. An increase in ice time should also give Ottawa a better idea of Hawryluk’s identity at the NHL level. A dynamic scorer in his junior days, Hawryluk has flashed that ability briefly in the minors but it has yet to show at the top level. Perhaps an expanded role could help him to re-discover that scoring touch. On the other hand, Ottawa may also be looking toward next year as the true test for Hawryluk, as he is an impending restricted free agent with arbitration rights and the cost-sensitive Senators may be hoping to re-sign him at a low cost before trying to inflate his stats.

Joining the waiver wire today are the Sabre’s Taylor Leier, who just signed a two-way NHL contract with the team today, and the Islanders’ Cole Bardreau, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Neither is expected to be claimed, but Bardreau has at least seen NHL action this year. The 26-year-old has skated in ten games with New York and another 29 with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, but has five points combined and is not likely a threat to be claimed. His waiving does indicate that the Islanders are opening up a roster spot for some other corresponding move, however.

Sabres Sign Taylor Leier To NHL Contract

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Last January, the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers swapped prospects, with Justin Bailey heading to Philly and Taylor Leier going to Buffalo. The duo had remarkably similar numbers at both the NHL and AHL levels and were each headed to restricted free agency, but the teams hoped a change of scenery might help to push them into NHL roles. However, when the time came for qualifying offers, both players found themselves as free agents rather than sticking with their new teams. The reasons however were very different.

Bailey got an immediate tryout with Philadelphia last season, skating in 11 games with the Flyers down the stretch. Unfortunately for the big winger, he failed to impress with just one point in that span and was not much of a difference-maker in the AHL either. The Flyers let him walk and he signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Vancouver Canucks this summer, which has so far paid off with immense minor league production and even a pair of NHL appearances.

Leier, on the other hand, spent the remainder of last season with the AHL’s Rochester Americans and was a valuable asset. By all accounts, the Sabres had planned to re-sign him. However, the young forward suffered a freak accident while training in May that completely changed the status quo. While practicing his stickhandling on rollerblades at a local tennis court near his Saksatoon home, Leier fell and put his arm out to break his fall. His shoulder popped out, tearing his labrum. Suddenly, his future was in doubt. With a long road ahead of him, including surgery and rehab, Leier knew that an extension with Buffalo was likely no longer an option. Yet, finding employment anywhere else was likely even more unlikely. The team and player agreed that staying where he was, that being AHL Rochester, was the best course of action, and so Leier signed a one-year AHL deal with the Americans.

Leier returned to game action in late December, finally having healed from his accident. In the 17 games since, the skilled forward has recorded seven goals and eight points, among the team’s scoring leaders. Regardless of whether they need him this season or not, the Sabres have decided to reward Leier’s hard work and dedication. The team announced today that they have signed him to an NHL contract for the remainder of the season. While it is a two-way deal worth the minimum $700K, the move is more of a symbolic gesture anyhow that shows Leier that the club continues to support him. It will also keep him under team control into next season as a restricted free agent.

Of course, Leier will have to clear waivers today before he can be re-added to the Rochester roster. If he continues to produce in the AHL, the Sabres could finally give him an NHL look down the stretch as well, especially if they move out current roster pieces at the trade deadline. Leier has 55 NHL games and seven points under his belt and after working hard to return from injury and earn an NHL contract, the hope is that the young forward will have the chance to build upon those totals moving forward.

Florida Panthers Place Jayce Hawryluk On Waivers

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The Florida Panthers have placed forward Jayce Hawryluk on waivers, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. The forward has been injured for most of the season, but has struggled to establish himself in Joel Quenneville’s lineup.

Hawryluk, 24, was a high second-round pick in 2014, but needed a few years in the AHL to develop his skills. It looked like he turned the corner last year when he posted 32 points in 31 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds, prompting a promotion to Florida where he became a regular, appearing in 47 games, scoring seven goals and 12 points.

This year, he appeared in eight games for Florida before suffering an upper-body injury in late October that kept him out of the lineup until mid-December. He was sent on a conditioning stint to Springfield where he played six games, but only chipping in one assist. However, with his conditioning stint time having run out, Florida was forced to recall him where he has failed to register a point in seven games. His playing time dropped to just 7:43 on Feb. 10 and he has been a scratch for the past three games, although Quenneville said that was due to illness.

The team is hoping they can slip Hawryluk through waivers so he can get more time in the minors with the hope he can find his game last year.

Zach Bogosian Clears Waivers

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Saturday: Bogosian has cleared waivers, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.  The Sabres announced that he has been assigned to AHL Rochester.

Friday: The Buffalo Sabres have decided to offer Zach Bogosian to the rest of the league for free, placing him on waivers today. Bogosian has been a healthy scratch at times this season and reportedly requested a trade, but also comes with a hefty contract that makes a deal difficult.

Bogosian, 29, was acquired by the Sabres back in 2015 as part of the huge Tyler Myers–Evander Kane deal, but his constant battle with injury never stopped. In fact, Bogosian has played more than 80 games in a season just once in his career, not even topping 65 since 2010-11. That fact, combined with a steady decline in effectiveness, has made him even impossible to ice for the Sabres.

Combine those struggles with the fact that he is still carrying a $5.14MM cap hit this season and the idea of a team claiming the right-handed defenseman becomes unlikely. Bogosian is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year and could still try to continue his career elsewhere, but having a team take that contract of Buffalo’s hands right now will be difficult.

There is always the trade route, if the Sabres are willing to retain some salary, but again it would be hard to see him providing any real upgrade for a contending team. At this point, it seems likely that he’ll just have to wait out the rest of the year in Buffalo (or, alternatively Rochester if the team decides to send him to the minor leagues and save $1.075MM against the cap).

Michael Hutchinson Clears Waivers

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Friday: Hutchinson has cleared waivers. He has been assigned to the minor leagues along with Pontus Aberg.

Thursday: With the news that Frederik Andersen is ready to return to action, the Toronto Maple Leafs have placed Michael Hutchinson on waivers. Hutchinson lost his backup role with the Maple Leafs when they acquired Jack Campbell, and will now be sent to the minor leagues should he clear waivers tomorrow.

It hasn’t been an easy role for the Maple Leafs to fill since Curtis McElhinney left for greener pastures in the summer of 2018, but it appears as though Campbell has the full trust of the coaching staff and his teammates. That isn’t something that Hutchinson was ever really able to acquire, even with his history of success at every level. Before an ill-fated stop over with the Florida Panthers, Hutchinson had recorded a .910 save percentage in 102 games with the Winnipeg Jets and even better numbers in the minor leagues. This year was the epitome of inconsistency however, and he’ll leave the team with a 4-9-1 record and .886 save percentage.

It’s hard to see anyone claiming Hutchinson after he already cleared waivers in November, unless they need an injury replacement for a short period of time. If he does clear, having a goaltender with that much NHL experience sitting the minor leagues is never a bad thing, though it would certainly complicate the Toronto Marlies’ situation.

Hutchinson will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. His entire cap hit will come off the books if assigned to the minor leagues.

Jonathan Ericsson Clears Waivers

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Wednesday: Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Ericsson has cleared waivers. He can now be assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Tuesday: The Detroit Red Wings have placed Jonathan Ericsson on waivers today according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. This is the second time the veteran defenseman finds himself waived, after clearing in late October and suiting up in the minor leagues for the first time in over a decade.

That’s where he’s headed again should he clear this time, which is very likely for Ericsson at this point in his career. The 35-year old was once a pillar of the Red Wings’ stifling puck-possession defense, but has regressed considerably with age and injury. Ericsson has played just 11 games in the NHL this season and has yet to register a point, but still carries a $4.25MM cap hit.

That six-year contract, signed back in 2013, expires at the end of this season leaving Ericsson an unrestricted free agent. That may mean it is the end of his time in the NHL altogether, unless he tries a comeback on a much more inexpensive deal. The very last pick (291st overall) in the 2009 draft, Ericsson has carved out a long career in Detroit, playing 673 regular season games. That total actually puts him sixth among all defensemen from his draft class—not bad for a ninth-round pick.

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