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Nathan Todd Clears Unconditional Waivers; Signs In KHL

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6/12: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Todd has cleared waivers this morning. The Sharks organization can now release Todd making him an unrestricted free agent, and they will open up a contract spot before a busy summer. Instead of pursuing an AHL contract this summer, reports from the Kontinental Hockey League indicate Todd has already signed a deal with HC Salavat Yulaev for the 2024-25 KHL season.

6/11: Beat writer for the San Jose Sharks, Curtis Pashelka is reporting that the organization has placed forward Nathan Todd on unconditional waivers for contract termination. Although the move does not carry significant weight at the NHL level, it will impact the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.

As an undrafted free agent, Todd spent much of his first four professional years in the ECHL before making the full-time jump to the AHL in 2020-21 for the Manitoba Moose. After securing nearly a point-per-game season with the Moose, Todd left to join the Springfield Thunderbirds for the next two seasons. In his first year with the Thunderbirds, the team would make it to the Calder Cup Final before finally being ousted by the Chicago Wolves in five games. During that postseason, Todd became a quality depth scorer, putting up four goals and 11 points in 18 games.

Last offseason, Todd signed on with the Sharks organization to a two-year, two-way contract. Playing the entire year for the Barracuda, Todd rewarded the team nicely, scoring 19 goals and 55 points in 69 games which is far and away his most productive season to date. Todd tied for 27th in the AHL in total scoring while also leading the Barracuda in assists and points.

Assuming Todd is not picked up on waivers over the next 24 hours, he will hit the open market to search for another AHL franchise to call home this summer. After failing to make the Calder Cup playoffs in the last two years, Todd’s breakout year in the minor leagues may earn him a spot on a much more competitive roster next season.

Blue Jackets Place Brendan Gaunce On Waivers

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May 27: Gaunce cleared waivers today and was subsequently assigned to AHL Cleveland, per a team announcement.

May 26: The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed forward Brendan Gaunce on waivers, per PuckPedia (Twitter link). The move was confirmed by CapFriendly (Twitter link). Gaunce captained Columbus’ AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, this season, helping to lead the team to a first-place finish in the league’s North Division. The Monsters are now set for the Calder Cup’s Eastern Conference Finals, with that series set to begin on Thursday.

This is the second time Gaunce has been placed on waivers this season, having cleared them to join Cleveland in October. He spent the majority of his season in the minor leagues, appearing in 46 games with the Monsters and recording an AHL career-high of 19 goals and 39 points. Gaunce also appeared in 24 NHL games this season, scoring four points. It was the most time that Gaunce had spent in the NHL since his first year with Columbus in the 2021-22 season, when he totaled 30 games and seven points.

Gaunce has been on the NHL roster since March. Assuming he clears waivers, he’ll rejoin a Monsters lineup that’s breezed through the Calder Cup Playoffs, beating the Belleville Senators 3-1 after a first-round bye and sweeping the Syracuse Crunch in the North Division Finals. Gaunce has provided stout scoring and plenty of veteran leadership from the team’s second line. Those are the traits they’ll need as Cleveland takes on a Hershey Bears lineup with an identical record in these playoffs.

Lightning’s Ilya Usau Clears Waivers, Has Contract Terminated

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05/26: Ilya Usau has cleared waivers and will have his contract terminated, per CapFriendly (Twitter link). His contract has now been mutually terminated

05/25: The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed centerman Ilya Usau (Usov) on unconditional waivers for the purposes of contract termination, per CapFriendly (Twitter link). Usau had one year remaining on a three-year, $2.8MM entry-level contract signed in 2022. He earned the deal following a three-game appearance with Belarus at the 2022 Olympic Qualifiers – an appearance he made in the midst of a 26-point season in the KHL. Usau has since spent the last two seasons with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, recording 30 points across 99 games with the team.

Usau was first draft-eligible in the 2020 NHL Draft. He spent his season with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders, recording 22 goals and 52 points in 58 games in his first season in Canada – after growing up through the USA youth hockey system and even appearing in four USHL games in 2019. His scoring in Western Canada drew the attention of scouts, finishing the year as the 101st-ranked prospect in TSN’s Craig Button’s final rankings. But Usau went unclaimed in the draft and decided to move back to his native Minsk, Belarus, signing with the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk.

That’s likely where Usau is bound for with this move, shares James Mirtle of The Athletic (Twitter link). If that’s the case, he’ll be returning to a KHL career just four games shy of 100 career games and, presumably, a Dinamo Minsk club that extended their playoff streak to four seasons this year.

Vladislav Firstov Clears Unconditional Waivers, Released By Wild

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Wednesday: Firstov cleared waivers today, per CapFriendly.  The Wild wasted little time releasing him as John Shipley of the Pioneer Press notes that the deal has already been terminated.

Tuesday: The Wild have placed forward prospect Vladislav Firstov on unconditional waivers with intent to terminate his contract, the team announced Tuesday. The Athletic’s Michael Russo was the first to report the news.

It’s likely a mutual termination to allow Firstov to return to Russia next season. The 22-year-old spent most of the last two seasons on loan to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the Kontinental Hockey League but was briefly brought to North America to close 2023-24 with AHL Iowa.

He had two goals and two assists in his 10-game stint with the club, his first since a lone appearance at the beginning of 2022-23 before heading to the KHL. Firstov had one season remaining on his entry-level contract and would have been a restricted free agent in 2025, but if he clears waivers tomorrow, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent immediately.

All told, the 2019 second-round pick will have played just 19 games in the Wild organization, all coming with Iowa. He totaled two goals and six points in parts of three seasons after turning pro out of UConn in 2022. A move back to Torpedo seems likely for Firstov, who did well with 28 goals, 61 points and 110 PIMs in 114 games over the past two seasons.

With Firstov set to be off the books next season, the Wild are down to 35 out of the maximum 50 standard player contracts signed.

Hurricanes Place Alexander Pashin On Unconditional Waivers

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Right wing prospect Alexander Pashin was placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination by the Hurricanes today, the team’s Walt Ruff reports.

Carolina selected Pashin, now 21, in the seventh round of the 2020 draft and signed him to a three-year entry-level contract in May 2022. The Russian forward came to North America immediately, spending 2022-23 with AHL Chicago where he recorded four goals, 10 points and a -12 rating in 47 games. It was a difficult adjustment for the agile but undersized winger, who had put up strong numbers in the junior and second-tier professional ranks in Russia but couldn’t break through a deep forward prospect pool in Carolina.

Without an affiliation agreement in place with Chicago this season, the Hurricanes loaned Pashin to Spartak Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League for the 2023-24 season. He provided solid depth scoring in a depth role there, posting 10 goals and nine assists in 60 games with a +3 rating. He was one of nine double-digit goal-scorers on Spartak’s roster and finished tied for 11th on the club in points. Spartak was eliminated in the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the KHL postseason, falling to eventual champion Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

Prior to coming to North America in 2022, Pashin logged his first full professional season with Toros Neftekamsk of the second-tier VHL. In 34 appearances for them in 2021-22, he was among their top scorers with 17 goals and 30 points.

If Pashin clears waivers tomorrow, he will become an unrestricted free agent and is free to sign with any NHL, AHL or overseas club. With his 5’8″, 154-lb frame already proving difficult in his adjustment to the AHL a season ago, he’s unlikely to receive any NHL offers and will likely remain in Russia. The move opens up an additional contract slot for the Canes this summer, who now only have 25 of the maximum 50 standard player contracts signed for 2024-25.

Penguins Place Ryan Shea On Waivers, Assign Three

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April 19: Shea has cleared waivers and can head to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, per CapFriendly.

April 18: The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed defenseman Ryan Shea on waivers (Twitter link). It’s his second time on waivers this season, after passing through unclaimed in December. The Penguins also assigned Valtteri Puustinen, Radim Zohorna, and Jack St. Ivany to the minor leagues (Twitter link).

Shea has served as one of many rotating through Pittsburgh’s seventh defenseman role, ultimately slotting into 31 games. He recorded just one point – an April 4th goal – in those appearances this season, though he did manage six points in 22 AHL games.

Shea made his NHL debut earlier this year, joining the Penguins as an unrestricted free agent last summer. It was the first move of Shea’s young career, after spending his first three pro seasons with the AHL’s Texas Stars. Shea was originally drafted in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks but went on to sign with the Dallas Stars after going unsigned by the Blackhawks. He managed 66 points in 163 games with the Texas Stars.

These assignments come after the Penguins’ 2023-24 season ended with no playoff berth. Shea will, if he clears waivers, join the trio of assignees as reinforcements to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who are bound for a strong playoff spot of their own, currently ranked third in the AHL’s Atlantic Division.

Blue Jackets Place Carson Meyer On Waivers

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April 7: Meyer has cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minors at will, per CapFriendly.

April 6: It’s not very often that we see waiver activity in April but there was a placement on the wire today.  CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the Blue Jackets have placed winger Carson Meyer on waivers.

It’s the second time on waivers for the 26-year-old who also cleared at the beginning of the season.  At that time, Meyer was assigned to AHL Cleveland where he was relatively productive, notching 22 goals and 15 assists in 55 games, setting new career-highs in goals and points.

That helped earn Meyer a recall on an emergency basis back on March 11th.  He had been a regular most nights in the lineup since then as he got into a dozen games with the Blue Jackets, picking up a goal along with 33 hits while averaging a little under ten minutes a night.  Because Meyer played in more than ten games on this recall, he has to clear waivers to return to the Monsters.  Since the recall came after the trade deadline, he retained his AHL eligibility for the stretch run.

It’s quite likely that Meyer will once again clear on Sunday.  If a team were to claim him, he’d be ineligible to play for the remainder of the season at both the NHL and AHL levels.  Meyer will be eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency in July, his first opportunity to hit the open market.

Penguins Place Jonathan Gruden On Waivers

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3/12: As expected, Friedman reports that Gruden has successfully cleared waivers, allowing the Penguins to safely send Gruden to their AHL affiliate in WBS.

3/11: Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Penguins placed forward Jonathan Gruden on waivers on Monday to assign him to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Gruden, 23, needs waivers to return to the minors after crossing the 10-game mark since last clearing waivers during training camp. He’s suited up 11 times with Pittsburgh this year in a minimal role, scoring a goal and posting a -2 rating while averaging 8:49 per game.

A 2018 fourth-round pick of the Senators, Gruden has provided some injury insurance over the past few months but hasn’t shown enough to force head coach Mike Sullivan to give him increased minutes. His possession numbers at even strength have been relatively poor, posting a 39.5 CF% and 39.6 xGF%, but Sullivan uses his fourth line primarily in a defensive role, limiting Gruden’s opportunities to generate offense.

Gruden is on an expiring contract, so his likelihood of getting claimed is near zero. Players who are claimed off waivers after the trade deadline are ineligible to play for their new NHL teams down the stretch. He’s set to be an RFA with arbitration rights upon completing his one-year, two-way ($775K/$100K) deal signed last July and is owed a qualifying offer of $814K, per CapFriendly.

His waiver placement could indicate that Matthew Nieto, who remains on long-term injured reserve after sustaining a knee injury in early January, could be nearing a return. He was projected to miss two months, but his absence has surpassed that estimate. Otherwise, waiving Gruden leaves Pittsburgh with only 12 healthy forwards – Jansen Harkins is on LTIR after undergoing a recent hand surgery, while Drew O’Connor is sidelined with a concussion he sustained last week.

Sharks Recall Jacob MacDonald

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After moving Nikita Okhotyuk to Calgary in a late move before Friday’s trade deadline, the Sharks were down to just six defenders on their active roster.  They’ve determined who his replacement on the roster will be as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled blueliner Jacob MacDonald from AHL San Jose.

The 30-year-old has spent most of the year with the Sharks but playing time was limited thanks to three separate injuries that kept him on injured reserve for 29 games.  In between those, MacDonald got into 22 games, recording six goals and one assist along with 37 hits while averaging a little over 12 minutes a night.

Last month, the Sharks opted to place MacDonald, a pending unrestricted free agent, on waivers to give a longer look to some of their other options.  He cleared and was sent to the Barracuda a little more than two weeks ago.  He suited up six times for them, collecting four assists.

There’s a decent chance MacDonald might not wind up back there as Ty Emberson is on injured reserve while Matt Benning is likely done for the season so MacDonald could be in a depth role for the Sharks for the stretch run.  Since this is a post-deadline recall, he would be eligible to return to the Barracuda later on while this will count as one of their four allowable regular recalls unless there’s another blueliner whose availability for their game tonight against Ottawa is in question.

Tony DeAngelo, Seven Others Placed On Waivers

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March 8: Katchouk is heading from the Blackhawks to the Senators, Lagesson is going from the Maple Leafs to the Ducks, and Björnfot is going from the Golden Knights to the Panthers. The five other players on waivers yesterday cleared.

March 7: Eight players, including Hurricanes defenseman Tony DeAngelo, were placed on waivers Thursday, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The full list is as follows:

Calgary Flames
D Jordan Oesterle

Carolina Hurricanes
D Tony DeAngelo
F Brendan Lemieux
G Antti Raanta

Chicago Blackhawks
F Boris Katchouk

Florida Panthers
G Evan Cormier

Toronto Maple Leafs
D William Lagesson

Vegas Golden Knights
D Tobias Björnfot

Of note, players who are assigned to the minors after clearing waivers tomorrow will be eligible to play in the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs. Players must be on loan to the AHL at the time of the trade deadline to be cleared to play in postseason action.

The Hurricanes’ trio of waived players is purely for roster flexibility ahead of tomorrow’s trade deadline, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic says. It’s unclear if any of the three players will be assigned to AHL clubs if they pass through unclaimed. The Hurricanes are the only NHL team without a dedicated AHL affiliate.

Raanta, a pending UFA with a $1.5MM cap hit, has a decent chance at being claimed by a team looking to add a backup netminder for free by tomorrow afternoon. That could very well include the Flyers, who have struggled to find consistency in the crease outside of breakout starter Samuel Ersson. Raanta has struggled this season with a .872 SV% and 2.99 GAA behind a stout Hurricanes defense, but he’s now posted a SV% above .900 in each of his last three appearances and could be on the upswing at just the right time. With Frederik Andersen returning to health after a months-long absence and both Pyotr Kochetkov and Spencer Martin playing well, Raanta appears unlikely to be back with Carolina this season regardless of whether he gets claimed.

Oesterle will likely head to the minors after being pushed down the Flames’ defensive depth chart. The club has brought in Joel Hanley off waivers and Daniil Miromanov via trade from the Golden Knights this week, eliminating the need for Oesterle as a depth option on the roster for now. The 31-year-old has two assists and a -6 rating in 22 games.

Assigning Katchouk to AHL Rockford will allow Chicago to clear a necessary roster spot ahead of Saturday’s game against the Capitals. Both Andreas Athanasiou and Nikita Zaitsev are expected to play, per Mark Lazerus of The Athletic, and will need to come off injured reserve to do so. The Blackhawks only have one open roster spot, so one more needed to be cleared.

Cormier was not signed to an NHL contract, so the Panthers inked him to a one-year, two-way deal ($775K NHL/$75K AHL) for the remainder of the season before waiving him, per PuckPedia. The 26-year-old has a .868 SV% and 1-2-2 record in five games for AHL Charlotte this season and a .910 SV% and 8-5-3 record in 18 games for ECHL Florida. By signing him to an NHL contract, he’ll be eligible to be on the Panthers’ roster in the postseason as added goaltending insurance if necessary.

Toronto’s waiving of Lagesson was reported earlier Thursday. He’s been designated non-roster while on the waiver wire, creating the necessary roster space for Joel Edmundson, who was acquired from the Capitals today. He’s dressed in 30 games for the Leafs, notching four assists and a +5 rating while averaging 14:31 per game.

Meanwhile, Björnfot, a 2019 first-round pick of the Kings, lands on waivers for the second time this season. Vegas claimed him off waivers from Los Angeles in January, but he played in just two games for them while battling injuries, posting a -2 rating while averaging 14:01 per game. Assigning him to AHL Henderson would create an open roster spot ahead of tomorrow’s trade deadline, allowing the Golden Knights to make a potential third acquisition after bringing in Noah Hanifin and Anthony Mantha.

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