Penguins Place Ryan Shea On Waivers, Assign Three
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
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
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
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
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.
Tobias Björnfot Claimed Off Waivers By Panthers
The Panthers have claimed defenseman Tobias Björnfot off waivers from the Golden Knights, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Björnfot played in just seven games with the Golden Knights organization – appearing in two games with Vegas and five with the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. He failed to score a point in any of the matchups, though he did record six penalty minutes. The 22-year-old defenseman has struggled to find his groove in the pros, recording just one goal and 15 points across 119 career games. He spent five years with the Los Angeles Kings before moving to Vegas, with the Kings originally drafted the defenseman 22nd-overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. He was drafted out of Sweden’s U20 league, then referred to as the J20 Nationell, though he also received seven SHL games in his draft year, failing to record a point in any of them. The Kings promptly signed Björnfot, even awarding him his NHL debut in the 2019-20 season.
While another change of scenery could be enticing for Björnfot, it’s not likely he’ll slot into Florida’s lineup without injury. The Panthers currently carry seven defensemen and have veteran depth on all three pairs, with Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Dmitry Kulikov operating as Florida’s bottom unit. Björnfot will have the chance to compete with Josh Mahura for the role as seventh defenseman, though Mahura’s ability to play on either the left or right side will likely earn him an advantage. Mahura has scored six assists in 20 appearances this season.
Senators Claim Boris Katchouk Off Waivers
The Ottawa Senators have claimed forward Boris Katchouk off of waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks. Katchouk has been with the Hawks for the last three seasons, totaling 117 games and 26 points with the club.
Katchouk has largely served in a full-time NHL role since making his debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021-22, playing in just nine AHL games since. That includes six games with the Rockford IceHogs this season, where Katchouk has scored three goals and five points. But while he’s stayed on an NHL roster, his role hasn’t grown much – with Katchouk regularly rotating into the lineup as a depth winger. He’s totaled 155 career games over the last three seasons, averaging just under 11-and-a-half minutes each game and scoring a total of 32 points.
Katchouk will now join a Senators lineup that recently traded winger Vladimir Tarasenko, forcing them to rely on call-up Jiri Smejkal to fill their fourth line. Smejkal has managed just one assist in 10 games this season, adding 19 points in 39 AHL games. It’s his first year in North America, after spending the last seven years touring across Europe’s top leagues, playing in the KHL, Czechia Extraliga, Liiga, and SHL. He’s proven productive in every league, though he hasn’t yet found his scoring groove in Canada. Some healthy competition could be exactly what he needs, now battling with an experienced depth forward in Katchouk.
Ducks Claim William Lagesson Off Waivers From Maple Leafs
The Ducks have claimed defenseman William Lagesson off waivers from the Maple Leafs, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports.
Lagesson has served as one of many depth defenders to fill in for injured Leafs this season, playing in 30 NHL games and recording four assists, 19 penalty minutes, and a +5. He’s still searching for his first NHL goal, failing to score in any of the 90 games he’s played, dating back to the 2019-20 season when he made his debut with the Edmonton Oilers. In fact, Lagesson hasn’t scored a goal in any of his last five seasons – save for a scoring explosion with the Chicago Wolves last year, when he managed a career-high 10 goals and 32 points in 65 games. But outside of that burst, Lagesson’s role has largely been on the defensive side of the puck, with his long reach and control along the boards helping to control transition up and down the ice.
The Ducks will likely lean on Lagesson as extra defensive depth behind current seventh-defenseman Jackson LaCombe, who has one goal and 12 points in the first 54 games of his career. Anaheim has seen a rotating door of defensemen this season, leaning on eight different blue-liners despite not bearing with substantial injuries. Their defense corp is also incredibly young, with rookies Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov, and LaCombe all earning routine roles.
Waivers: 3/5/24
March 7: Johansen, Lockwood and Moverare cleared waivers today, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports. Anderson-Dolan was claimed off waivers by the Predators.
March 6: As trade deadline season is in full swing, so too is the NHL’s waiver wire. Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff lists four players finding themselves on the wire today. Furthermore, Seravalli also notes that all players placed on waivers yesterday have cleared. The list for today is as follows:
Los Angeles Kings
F Jaret Anderson-Dolan
D Jacob Moverare
Florida Panthers
F William Lockwood
Philadelphia Flyers
F Ryan Johansen
For Los Angeles, the team will free up a bit of cap space leading up to the trade deadline on Friday. Both Anderson-Dolan and Moverare have been used as depth players for much of the season, and shouldn’t alter the continuity of the lineup moving forward in their absence.
After trading for Vladimir Tarasenko this morning, Lockwood’s roster spot fell victim to the chopping block. Whether or not Lockwood clears by tomorrow afternoon, the Panthers will now roll with 14 forwards on their active roster.
Lastly, this waiver placement will mark Johansen’s name in the second transaction today, as he was recently traded to the Flyers from the Colorado Avalanche in the Sean Walker trade a few moments ago. With 50% of his salary still being paid by the Nashville Predators, Johansen and his $4MM salary will be available to rest of the league for the next 24 hours.
Predators Claim Jaret Anderson-Dolan Off Waivers From Kings
The Predators have claimed forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan off waivers from the Kings, per Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic.
Anderson-Dolan, 24, was a second-round pick of the Kings in 2017. Placed on waivers yesterday by Los Angeles in an effort to create roster flexibility ahead of the trade deadline, the Canadian forward had just four points in 30 games this season while averaging 10:57 per game.
For now, he’ll likely serve as extra forward depth for Nashville and aim to get into some games down the stretch as the Preds look to secure the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. He’ll be battling for ice time with newcomer Anthony Beauvillier, as well as depth skaters like Denis Gurianov and Mark Jankowski, as GM Barry Trotz performs a refresh of the team’s second, third and fourth lines. The team also shipped out Yakov Trenin to the Avalanche on Thursday, creating some more internal turnover.
The Calgary native was on a solid development path in the minors, churning out 47 points in 54 games for AHL Ontario in 2021-22, but he hasn’t been able to consistently elevate himself into a top-nine role in the NHL. The Kings briefly let him become a free agent last summer after not issuing him a qualifying offer, but they brought him back anyway on a one-year, $775K deal. Nashville will maintain his signing rights this summer if they opt to qualify him, as he’s a pending RFA with arbitration rights.
After today’s moves, the Preds are at a full roster of 23 players with $33.9MM available in cap space at tomorrow’s deadline.