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Pavel Gogolev Clears Unconditional Waivers

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March 9: Gogolev has cleared unconditional waivers and will see his contract terminated.

March 8: It seems as though Pavel Gogolev won’t be with the Chicago Blackhawks organization for very long. The young forward is on unconditional waivers today, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, for the purpose of a contract termination.

Gogolev, 23, was included in the recent Jake McCabe trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs, coming over along with Joey Anderson. His inclusion was mostly about contract slots for Toronto but there was at least some hope that Gogolev could make the jump to the AHL in the Chicago organization.

After two games (and one goal) with the Rockford IceHogs, it appears as though he’s headed back overseas. A contract termination will leave him an unrestricted free agent, able to sign somewhere else to continue his hockey career.

While an overseas assignment is a usual outcome in these situations, it’s not like Gogolev is new to North America. The Russian forward came to Canada a decade ago to play hockey at various academies, before being the eighth overall pick in the 2016 OHL draft.

After a professional career that has been spent mostly in the ECHL, he’ll now have to catch on somewhere else to keep his hockey journey moving forward.

Three Players Clear Waivers

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March 3: All three players on waivers yesterday cleared and are eligible to be sent to the American Hockey League. Derrick Pouliot can continue to play with the San Jose Barracuda while Jean-Francois Berube and Evan Fitzpatrick are likely to stay in the minor leagues as well. James Mirtle added there were no new players place on waivers today.

March 2: Three players have hit the waiver wire, all with brand-new contracts in hand. Derrick Pouliot has signed a one-year deal with the San Jose Sharks for the rest of the season, after previously playing under an AHL deal. To stay with the San Jose Barracuda, he needs to clear waivers first. Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group reports that Pouliot’s pro-rated contract is worth $750,000 at the NHL level and $250,000 at the AHL level.

Joining him on the wire are Jean-Francois Berube and Evan Fitzpatrick, who have both signed with the Florida Panthers. PuckPedia reports that Berube’s one-year deal is worth $750K in the NHL and $100K in the AHL, while CapFriendly reports Fitzpatrick’s is $75K in the AHL.

Both players from yesterday have cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minor leagues.

Pouliot, 29, has been effective with the Barracuda this season, but it is a bit curious to see him sign a contract now. It seems unlikely that the Sharks would need to recall him unless they are involved in trade talks on several other defensemen, or don’t want to bring up some of the other younger names available.

For the Panthers, adding two goaltenders is just in case of an emergency, while Spencer Knight continues in the Player Assistance Program. Without him, Mack Guzda was the only other netminder in the organization signed to an NHL contract.

Winnipeg Jets Sign Evan Cormier

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The Winnipeg Jets have added some goaltending depth, signing Evan Cormier to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750K at the NHL level. Cormier had been playing in the organization on an AHL contract but has been limited to ECHL action. This deal allows him to be brought to the NHL as an emergency backup, though it also required him to be placed on waivers today to stay in the minor leagues for now.

Cormier, 25, was a fourth-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2016, but wasn’t given a qualifying offer after his entry-level deal expired in 2021. He’s rarely even appeared at the AHL level, and has a .905 save percentage in 27 games with the Kalamazoo Wings this season.

With Mikhail Berdin playing overseas, this is simply a move to give the Jets a little more depth at the position so that they aren’t in an emergency spot at some point down the road. Cormier isn’t expected to dress for the Jets unless several injuries happen simultaneously.

Anaheim Ducks Claim Scott Harrington

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After being traded from the San Jose Sharks to the New Jersey Devils, Scott Harrington is quickly on his way back to California. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the depth defender has been claimed off waivers by the Anaheim Ducks.

While the Devils likely hoped they could sneak Harrington through, this isn’t a big loss as the prize of the deal was Timo Meier.

In Anaheim, the 29-year-old defender will get a much bigger opportunity at the NHL level, especially if the Ducks move out some of their expiring contracts in the next few days. Harrington, quietly, has racked up 238 regular season games in the NHL, mostly playing the seventh defenseman role.

There is at least a chance that the Ducks could even flip him, should another team be interested in adding Harrington as a depth piece. Anaheim would have had the second crack at him on waivers, given they sit in 31st place, only ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Michael Houser Clears Waivers

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Feb 28: Houser has cleared, but Harrington was claimed by the Anaheim Ducks.

Feb 27: The Buffalo Sabres have signed Michael Houser to a midseason contract for the third season in a row, and placed him on waivers for the purpose of an assignment to the minor leagues. Houser was playing with the Rochester Americans on an AHL deal (again), and would need to clear waivers to remain there. Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets reports that Scott Harrington, recently acquired by the New Jersey Devils, is also on waivers.

Houser, 30, has actually been incredible in his limited NHL opportunities with the Sabres, stepping into emergency situations and playing very well. Last season in two games he allowed just four goals on 77 shots, winning both appearances and posting a .948 save percentage. He’s never been that effective at the minor league level but has now cashed in with three consecutive one-year NHL contracts.

It is unclear why exactly the Sabres are signing him now, but it could suggest one of their other goaltenders will be traded away in the coming days. There has been some rumbling that Craig Anderson has drawn a bit of interest, and Eric Comrie’s contract is likely one the team is ready to move on from.

This was always the likely scenario for Harrington after joining the Devils, as he won’t have a full-time NHL role with his new team. That doesn’t necessarily mean he will spend the rest of the season in the minor leagues, but at this point the team doesn’t need him on the active roster and can stash him in the AHL. That is, of course, unless a team wants to take him, but Harrington already cleared waivers twice this season, so the risk seems minimal.

Jake Leschyshyn Clears Waivers

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Feb 26: Along with the other two players on waivers, Leschyshyn has cleared without issue. He has been sent to the minor leagues in favor of Ryan Carpenter, who was recalled because the Rangers need 18 skaters if they are cap compliant. Carpenter’s $750K cap hit is slightly lower, though, allowing the team to bank a tiny bit of extra space today.

Feb 25: With the Rangers expected to be trying to clear up some salary to make another move to add to their roster, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that Jake Leschyshyn is expected to be on waivers at the top of the hour.

It will be the second time that the 23-year-old is on waivers this season as Vegas put him on the wire back in January when New York picked him up.  Leschyshyn has yet to put up a single point in 35 games in 2022-23 between the two teams (22 with the Golden Knights, 13 with the Rangers) although he does have 55 hits and has won a little over 50% of his faceoffs so far.  Last season was his first taste of NHL action when he had four goals and two assists in 41 appearances with Vegas.

Notably, Leschyshyn is in the first season of a three-year, one-way deal that carries a cap hit of $766.7K.  Teams may be hesitant to commit two years of guaranteed salary to a player whose place on an NHL roster is very much in flux even though starting next season, his AAV will be below the league minimum.  If Vegas elects to put in a claim and no one else does, they would be permitted to send Leschyshyn to the minors but if anyone else opted to, he would need to stay on the NHL roster.

Jordie Benn, Vinni Lettieri Clear Waivers

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Feb 26: Both players have cleared waivers today and can now be assigned to the minor leagues.

Feb 25: On top of Jake Leschyshyn’s previously-reported waiver placement, two others are on the wire today as NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that the Maple Leafs have placed defenseman Jordie Benn on waivers while the Bruins have done the same with forward Vinni Lettieri.  Additionally, Johnston tweets that defenseman Kevin Gravel, who was waived yesterday, passed through unclaimed.

Benn has played in 12 games for Toronto this season, picking up a goal and an assist in less than 16 minutes per night while chipping in with 29 blocked shots and 32 hits.  However, he has been eighth on the depth chart for a while and hasn’t suited up for a month now.  The 35-year-old is on a one-year, one-way contract worth the league minimum of $750K and would be a low-cost depth addition for a team looking to shore up some depth.  The impetus for the move from the Maple Leafs is to create some extra cap flexibility as his cost would come off the books entirely if he went unclaimed and was sent to the AHL’s Marlies.  With Matt Murray set to come off LTIR as soon as this week, some roster moves will need to be made for them to be able to do so.

As for Lettieri, he was recalled by the Bruins at the end of January but landed on injured reserve one day later without suiting up.  This placement means that he has been cleared to return.  The 28-year-old has had a productive season with Providence of the AHL, notching 16 goals and 21 assists in 41 games.  He has 82 career NHL appearances under his belt and could be scooped for extra depth but the likelier outcome is that he clears and returns to the AHL.  That would open up an extra $750K in cap room for Boston heading into the trade deadline.

In related news, the Bruins also announced that center Tomas Nosek has been activated off LTIR.  He has been out with a foot injury for a little more than a month.  The 30-year-old has eight points in 42 games this season but is a key penalty killer that has won more than 58% of his faceoffs so far.

Blues Claim Kasperi Kapanen Off Waivers From Penguins

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Kasperi Kapanen is on the move as Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that the Blues have claimed the winger off waivers from the Penguins.

The 26-year-old is in the midst of a tough season that has seen him record just seven goals and 13 assists in 43 games while being a healthy scratch on multiple occasions.  When he has been in the lineup, Kapanen is averaging just over 12 minutes a night which is a career low.  However, prior to this season, he has been a capable middle-six winger, ranging between 11 and 20 goals over the last four seasons between Pittsburgh and Toronto while he is one of the faster players in the league as well.

With that track record, it’s understandable that St. Louis would want to take a flyer on Kapanen to try to restore some value.  However, it does come with a somewhat notable salary commitment as the winger is in the first season of a two-year contract that carries a $3.2MM cap hit.  As a result of that claim, the Blues will take the entirety of that contract on.  Prior to the claim, they had nearly $71MM of commitments on the books for next season per CapFriendly with this claim pushing that number up to nearly $74MM for 16 players.  That won’t leave them with a lot of wiggle room to add to the back of their roster.

To make room for Kapanen (who won’t play today against his now-former team) on their roster, the Blues announced (Twitter link) that forward Nikita Alexandrov has been sent down to AHL Springfield.  The 22-year-old has five points in 20 games with St. Louis in his first taste of NHL action while he has done well in the minors, picking up 12 goals and 10 helpers in 28 contests with the Thunderbirds.

Meanwhile, it’s a disappointing end to Kapanen’s tenure with Pittsburgh with the team moving a first-round pick to reacquire him from Toronto less than two and a half years ago.  However, the move gives them some much-needed financial flexibility.  Being claimed allowed the Penguins to activate Jan Rutta from LTIR without needing to make any other roster moves while they will now have a bit more space to try to add another piece before the trade deadline.

Chris Driedger Clears Waivers

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February 24: Driedger has cleared waivers, per NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston.

February 23: The Seattle Kraken have placed goaltender Chris Driedger on waivers, which could indicate he’s ready to return from the offseason surgery that has kept him out of game action all season. With two NHL goaltenders already in place, the Kraken will likely send Driedger to the minor leagues if he clears.

One of the original Kraken, selected in the 2021 expansion draft, Driedger, at that point, was coming off a breakout season with the Florida Panthers. After registering a .927 save percentage in 23 games with the Panthers, there was talk about Driedger all across the league as a potential available starter. The Kraken selected him and gave him a three-year, $10.5MM contract, only to sign Philipp Grubauer to a much bigger deal a few days later.

That made Driedger the backup by default, and things didn’t go well in his first year with Seattle. With an .899 save percentage in 27 appearances, he (along with Grubauer) was a big part of the team’s collapse in their first year.

After the season ended, Driedger went to play with Canada at the World Championships, where he suffered a serious knee injury. Surgery and a long rehab have followed, without any game action.

One interesting wrinkle in today’s waiver placement is that Driedger could have been loaned to the Coachella Valley Firebirds on a long-term injury conditioning stint, without worrying about waivers for the time being. By doing it this way, the team can not only keep him in the minor leagues for as long as they want, but also potentially entice another team to take him—and his $3.5MM cap hit—off their hands.

Driedger is signed through next season but it is hard to predict where his career will go from here. The Kraken still have Grubauer under contract long-term and probably don’t want to be rolling out that tandem again next season. It makes almost no sense for anyone to claim him, but if he does pass through, perhaps a team would be interested as a goaltender they can keep in the minor leagues.

Kasperi Kapanen, Kevin Gravel Placed On Waivers

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1:00 pm: Kapanen has officially been placed on waivers, along with Nashville Predators defenseman Kevin Gravel, per NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston.

12:28 pm: The Pittsburgh Penguins will place forward Kasperi Kapanen on waivers today, according to head coach Mike Sullivan.

Kapanen, who was re-acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs before the 2020-21 season, has struggled to find his footing with the Penguins after a promising first year. In 43 games this season, the 26-year-old has recorded just seven goals and 13 assists, a steady drop-off from his production at the beginning of his Pittsburgh tenure.

The decision to waive Kapanen is made with the trade deadline in mind. The team is looking to clear some salary cap space to make a move, and burying Kapanen’s $3.2MM cap hit in the minors will take $1.125MM off his cap hit for the time being, the maximum buriable amount.

Kapanen has one year remaining on his contract after this season.

It’s highly doubtful Kapanen would be claimed on waivers, as the combination of his cap hit and term is undesirable for a player demoted to a fourth-line role this season. If he goes unclaimed, Kapanen could use some time with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to regain confidence.

Kapanen last played in the minors with the Toronto Marlies in 2017-18, recording 24 points in 28 games.

The Penguins’ name has been popping up more in trade rumors, as the team has quickly lost their small cushion on a wild card spot. Assigning Kapanen to the minors slightly adds to their $1.225MM projected deadline cap space, per CapFriendly.

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