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Arizona Coyotes Waive Patrik Nemeth, Zack Kassian For Purposes Of Buyout

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June 21: Kassian and Nemeth have both cleared conditional waivers, paving the way for the Coyotes to buy them out, CapFriendly reports.

June 20: The Arizona Coyotes have placed defenseman Patrik Nemeth and forward Zack Kassian on unconditional waivers for the purposes of a buyout today, NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston reports.

Nemeth, 31, carried a modified no-trade clause and was slated to be the Coyotes’ highest-paid active defenseman heading into 2023-24. Buying out the final season of Nemeth’s $2.5MM average annual value contract gives Arizona $2.33MM in savings next year (he’ll carry a cap hit of just $167,667), but he’ll cost the team $1.167MM against the cap in 2024-25, per CapFriendly’s buyout calculator.

Kassian had one season remaining on his deal at a $3.2MM cap hit but was only due $2.3MM in salary. The Coyotes will save an additional $1.533MM next season with the Kassian buyout, bringing his cap hit down to $1.67MM, but will incur a $766,667 cap hit in 2024-25. Altogether, the buyouts create $3.867MM in cap space for the Coyotes next year, but they’ll incur a combined $1.933MM buyout charge between Kassian and Nemeth in 2024-25.

Arizona was already one of six NHL teams below next season’s salary cap Lower Limit of $61.7MM – including over $21MM in dead cap allotted to Bryan Little, Jakub Voracek, and Shea Weber. The team has four restricted free agents to re-sign – Christian Fischer, Connor Ingram, Jack McBain, and Matias Maccelli – but they likely won’t make up the $10MM Arizona now needs to spend to hit the cap floor, per CapFriendly.

Acquiring unrestricted free agents will be a challenge given the team’s significant long-term uncertainty, although with Mullett Arena secured as their 2023-24 home, they may be able to attract a spattering of players on one-year deals. The team’s internal salary budget is almost certainly close to (if not lower than) that $61.7MM floor, so freeing up space to allot to younger players (internally or externally) does make some modicum of sense from a financial standpoint.

Both Nemeth and Kassian will be free to sign anywhere as unrestricted free agents on July 1. Nemeth recorded just five assists in 75 games last season in a bottom-pairing role, posting poor relative possession numbers for the second straight season. Kassian, now strictly an enforcer at this point in his career, could be headed for retirement after scoring just twice in 51 games, recording a career-worst -18 rating despite playing under 10 minutes per game.

John Hayden Clears Waivers; Assigned To AHL

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May 30: Hayden has cleared waivers and can join Coachella for their series, which continues on Thursday. The team has now officially assigned him to the AHL.

May 29: In a move with very unusual timing, the Seattle Kraken have placed forward John Hayden on waivers, per CapFriendly, likely to assign him to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

The Firebirds are alive and well in their pursuit of the Calder Cup, up 2-0 in their Western Conference Final series against the Milwaukee Admirals. Hayden, who had 33 points in 47 games with them this season, needs waivers to return for the remainder of their playoff run.

The timing remains mysterious, as Hayden had remained on Seattle’s active roster after their postseason ended days ago. Seattle placed Jesper Frödén on waivers earlier in the month to return him to Coachella Valley after their elimination, but Hayden has remained on the Kraken roster, not able to play in the minors.

The 28-year-old grinding winger is a pending unrestricted free agent after signing a one-year deal in free agency with the Kraken last offseason. He played seven NHL games this season, scoring twice.

Seattle Kraken Waive Jesper Frödén

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May 17: Frödén has cleared waivers, per CapFriendly, and will join the Firebirds as they attempt to close out their Division Final series tonight against the Calgary Wranglers.

May 16: After their storybook second season came to a close last night, the Seattle Kraken have placed forward Jesper Frödén on waivers, according to CapFriendly. If he clears tomorrow, the move will allow him to join their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, as they look to advance to the Western Conference Final of this year’s Calder Cup Playoffs.

Frödén will almost undoubtedly clear, given he’ll be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The 28-year-old Swedish forward suited up for Game 4 of the team’s first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche, playing just over four minutes.

An undrafted free agent, Frödén had signed with the Kraken this season after a strong first professional campaign in the Boston Bruins organization last year. He built on that initial success, registering over a point per game with Coachella Valley and earning a 14-game NHL stint with the Kraken in the regular season, posting four assists.

With Seattle’s deep forward corps on full display in the postseason, it seems unlikely Frödén would opt for a return in 2023-24. His minor-league production and decent (but limited) NHL looks suggest he may be capable of handling a bottom-six role on a more full-time basis, a chance he likely won’t get in Seattle. Look for Frödén to find a home in free agency where more opportunity exists for him to move up on the depth chart.

Noah Juulsen Placed On Waivers

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The Vancouver Canucks aren’t going to make the playoffs this season, but the Abbotsford Canucks sure are. The AHL club has secured its postseason berth and will soon start a Calder Cup run. They may get a reinforcement, as Noah Juulsen has been placed on waivers today by Vancouver for the purpose of assignment to the AHL.

Juulsen, 26, was included in a paper transaction at the deadline so that he is eligible for the minor league postseason, and will now officially rejoin Abbotsford to help on the run. The 2015 first-round pick has bounced back and forth throughout his entire career, never able to establish himself as a full-time NHLer.

It’s been a very disrupted path for Juulsen, who has dealt with scary eye injuries, team changes, and a lack of consistent playing time. Since debuting in 2017, he has only played 223 professional games, and more than half of those have come since joining the Canucks organization in 2021.

It is almost unthinkable for him to be claimed at this point in the year, meaning he should have no issue reporting to Abbotsford and trying to help them win a Calder in the coming weeks.

Mark Friedman Clears Waivers

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April 13: Friedman has cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minor leagues before tonight’s game.

April 12: As the team is getting healthier with their season on the line, the Pittsburgh Penguins have placed defenseman Mark Friedman on waivers today, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

While it’s rare for a player to hit waivers after the trade deadline, let alone this late in the season, the move comes out of salary cap necessity for Pittsburgh. Defenseman Marcus Pettersson has progressed in his recovery from a lower-body injury and will be a game-time decision tomorrow night, per head coach Mike Sullivan, meaning the team needs to clear some cap room to activate Pettersson from long-term injured reserve.

Friedman and his $775,000 salary are the odd factors out here, and assuming the near-given scenario that he clears waivers, will be assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tomorrow. The 27-year-old has split the season evenly between the two teams, playing a total of 47 pro games and recording nine points.

After dropping their last home game of the regular season to the Chicago Blackhawks last night, 5-2, the Penguins must rely on the 68-point Montreal Canadiens to defeat the New York Islanders in regulation tonight to keep their playoff hopes alive. Pittsburgh would then need a regulation win against Columbus on Thursday to continue their 16-year postseason streak.

Friedman, strictly a depth defender, had suited up in 12 straight games for Pittsburgh before he was a healthy scratch against Chicago.

Predators Place John Leonard On Waivers

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April 5: Leonard has cleared waivers and been assigned to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, Nashville announced today.

April 4: Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Nashville Predators have placed forward John Leonard on waivers. Leonard was recalled by the Predators on an emergency loan yesterday. The forward was acquired by the Predators from the San Jose Sharks in the trade for Luke Kunin.

Leonard was originally drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Draft by the Sharks out of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. As he made his transition to the NHL, Leonard scored three goals and 10 assists in his first 44 games in the professional leagues.

During last year, Leonard primarily played for the Sharks’ AHL affiliate San Jose Barracuda, scoring 17 goals and 15 assists in only 45 games played. Although he was scoring over a 0.5 PPG basis in the AHL last season, Leonard posted a dreadful -28 +/-, leading to serious questions about his play on the defensive side of the puck.

As he was acquired from Nashville over the summer, Leonard has once again played a majority of his year in the AHL, this time playing for the Predators’ AHL affiliate Milwaukee Admirals. Although he is still scoring over a 0.5 PPG basis, his offensive output is slightly down this season. Playing in 61 games for the Admirals, the forward has 14 goals and 24 assists. For the next 24 hours, Leonard will be sitting in roster limbo, as every team will have the opportunity to claim him, or the Predators will stow him back down in the AHL.

Chicago Blackhawks Waive Joey Anderson

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April 3: Anderson has cleared waivers, although he isn’t expected to be assigned to Rockford until the Blackhawks finish their season.

April 2: The Chicago Blackhawks have placed forward Joey Anderson on waivers, according to The Athletic’s James Mirtle and CapFriendly. The 24-year-old was acquired by Chicago just over a month ago in the team’s trade of Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Anderson is a 2016 New Jersey Devils third-round pick who has split time this season between the AHL level with the Toronto Marlies and NHL with both Toronto and Chicago. At the NHL level, Anderson scored three points in 14 games for Toronto, and has five points in 18 games with the Blackhawks.

He’s been in the NHL since a late January recall, one that came after Anderson played in a nine-game stretch for the Marlies, a run where Anderson and the Marlies won all nine games. In total, Anderson has been more of a difference-maker at the AHL level, where he has scored 27 points in 30 games this season and 120 points across 163 career AHL games.

It’s his abilities as an impactful AHLer that likely inspired the Blackhawks’ decision to waive him, as their affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, is currently looking to fend off the Chicago Wolves and secure the fifth and final playoff spot in the AHL’s Central Division. Should Anderson clear waivers and land in Rockford, he’ll be expected to shoulder a significant offensive load and be one of the team’s go-to forwards.

Given that Anderson is a proven AHL commodity and on a league-minimum deal with some team control remaining beyond this season as a restricted free agent, it’s possible a team in need of some help up front decides to put in a claim.

Hockeybuzz’s Michael Augello notes that while Anderson’s former team, the Maple Leafs, might be tempted to claim Anderson to get him back in their organization, they are currently at 49 contracts and their last slot is believed to be reserved for University of Minnesota forward and team top prospect Matthew Knies.

But from the Blackhawks’ perspective, it’s a risk worth taking in order to give their AHL squad a spark. Rockford is on a three-game losing streak, and have been shutout in back-to-back games.

With the reigning Calder Cup champion Wolves just a few points behind them with seven games remaining, getting Anderson to Rockford could be what the IceHogs need to avoid letting a playoff berth slip through their fingers in the final stretch of the regular season.

Brad Hunt Clears Waivers

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Saturday: As expected, Hunt has cleared for the third time, Friedman reports.  That allows him to return to the Eagles.

Friday: For the third time this season, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brad Hunt finds himself on waivers, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Should Hunt clear waivers, as he has done twice already this season, he will return to the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.

Hunt, 34, has split time between the AHL and NHL this season, playing 43 games with the Avalanche and 24 with the Eagles. In the AHL, Hunt is a difference-making offensive defenseman. He has scored 21 points in the AHL this season, and his contributions have helped the Eagles clinch a spot in the Calder Cup playoffs. In the NHL, Hunt’s impact has been more limited, and he has registered just eight points in his 43 games played.

With the once injury-ravaged Avalanche blueline now getting markedly healthier, Colorado has made the decision that Hunt is better served to play a top-pairing, top-scoring role in the AHL rather than spending time in the press box as coach Jared Bednar’s ninth defenseman.

So while he last saw extended AHL time in December, Hunt heads back to the Eagles with the likely possibility that he’ll remain there for the rest of their season, unless any new injuries hit the Avalanche’s blueline. If that ends up being the case, the addition of Hunt will give the Eagles a significant boost in their chase of higher seeding for the AHL’s playoffs.

In order to get that boost, though, Hunt will need to clear waivers first. Seeing as he went unclaimed his prior two go-arounds on the waiver wire, one would assume Hunt will clear once again. But since he has nearly 300 games of NHL experience and has just a $762k cap hit, it’s not a total impossibility that a team desperate for defensive help puts in a claim. But that does seem unlikely, though, seeing as Hunt’s contract does stretch for another season, meaning he wouldn’t quite be a short-term stopgap option.

Jordan Gross Clears Waivers; Reassigned To AHL

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March 28: Gross has cleared waivers and was reassigned to the minor leagues.

March 27: The Nashville Predators have waived defenseman Jordan Gross, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Monday afternoon.

The move could signal that Roman Josi, who’s been out of the lineup since March 18, is close to returning. He’s listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Players returning from injuries is one of the few reasons why a player would land on waivers post-trade deadline, given the absence of the normal 23-player roster limit. But with their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, near the top of their division, Nashville is carrying a trim roster in an effort to bolster their minor league club.

Gross, a 27-year-old product of Minnesota, has three goals in 15 games with the Predators this season. In Milwaukee, he leads the team’s defensemen in scoring despite seeing many days on the NHL roster, recording eight goals and 23 assists in 45 games.

Gross is expected to clear waivers, as he would be ineligible to play for any team in the playoffs or during the brief remainder of the regular season.

Carl Dahlstrom Clears Waivers

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Mar 24: Dahlstrom has cleared waivers, per CapFriendly, clearing the way for him to be assigned to the Marlies.

Mar 23: While you don’t see players on waivers very often after the trade deadline passes, it happens occasionally. Today, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs have placed Carl Dahlstrom on waivers, indicating that the veteran defenseman is ready to play after a long absence.

Dahlstrom, 28, suffered a serious shoulder injury in training camp that required surgery and has yet to play this season. By clearing waivers, he can be assigned directly to the Toronto Marlies, where he can get up to game speed.

Dahlstrom played three games for the Maple Leafs last season, but was a regular in the Marlies lineup, scoring 14 points in 49 games. While Toronto likely won’t need him for the NHL playoffs after acquiring so much defensive depth at the deadline, he does represent a potential emergency option should they suffer several injuries down the stretch.

His one-year, two-way contract will expire at the end of this season, making him an unrestricted free agent in the summer.

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