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Jussi Olkinuora Clears Unconditional Waivers

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Feb 1: Olkinuora has cleared waivers according to CapFriendly, and will have his contract terminated.

Jan 31: As the trade deadline approaches, teams will be trying to open up additional contract slots just to give themselves some flexibility. After one player hit unconditional waivers yesterday, another finds himself there today. Jussi Olkinuora has been waived by the Detroit Red Wings for the purpose of a contract termination, according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets.

Olkinuora, 32, was signed by the Red Wings last summer to a one-year, two-way contract to try his hand in North America once again. The Finnish goaltender had played several years in the minor leagues earlier in his career, after suiting up for the Sioux Falls Stampede and the University of Denver.

After just 15 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins, a contract termination suggests he’s on his way back overseas. He went 6-8 with the minor league club, posting an .868 save percentage. That’s a far cry from the numbers he was registering in the KHL the last few years, and an understandable catalyst for this termination.

For a veteran player like Olkinuora, struggling in the AHL isn’t always the most rewarding hockey career. Given the depth in net for Detroit, with Alex Nedeljkovic heading to the AHL, he wasn’t even going to play very much moving forward.

The move will open an extra contract slot for the Red Wings, giving them four to work with under the limit of 50.

Anton Levtchi Clears Unconditional Waivers; Signs In Finland

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Feb 1: After clearing waivers and having his NHL contract terminated, Levtchi has re-joined his former club team Tappara in Finland.

Jan 30: The Florida Panthers have placed Anton Levtchi on unconditional waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. If he clears, the remainder of his contract will be terminated, allowing him to pursue other opportunities.

You can understand why Levtchi might be regretting his decision to come to North America, given how successful he has been in Finland the last few years. He led Liiga in scoring with 26 goals and 61 points last season, only to find himself mostly in the minor leagues this year.

Through 35 games with the Charlotte Checkers, he has eight goals and 17 points, and has seen just two games with the Panthers. With no points to show for it, his NHL career might come to an end without him ever hitting the scoresheet.

Technically, a contract termination would let him sign with any other team in the league, but these are usually done with an agreement to return to Europe already in place. We’ll have to wait and see if Levtchi ever tries his luck in North America again.

Rudolfs Balcers Clears Waivers

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Jan 30: Balcers has cleared waivers and can now be officially assigned to the AHL.

Jan 29: The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed forward Rudolfs Balcers on waivers, according to CapFriendly. The move comes after Balcers finished his conditioning loan to the Lightning’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, today.

Balcers, 25, hasn’t played in an NHL game since November as he was dealing with an upper-body injury. This is not his first time on waivers this season, as he was claimed off of waivers by the Lightning in November.

Balcers’ injury means that he has only played in three games for the Lightning, despite being on their roster for quite a bit of time. In those three games, Balcers scored a goal and averaged just under seven minutes of ice time per game. His full-season total production is five points through 17 games, which is a decline from the rate he scored last year.

If he ends up clearing waivers, Balcers will head back to the AHL level in Syracuse where he’s had success. Balcers has 117 points in 149 career AHL games, so he should be able to help the Crunch’s scoring attack should he end up there.

Otherwise, teams across the league will have a chance to reinforce their group of forwards with Balcers should they want to place a claim. Balcers is available at a league-minimum price, and has 170 NHL games on his resume.

Blue Jackets Claim Lane Pederson Off Waivers From Canucks

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The Blue Jackets have added some forward depth as NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that they’ve claimed center Lane Pederson off waivers from the Canucks.  To make room for him on the active roster, Columbus has placed winger Gustav Nyquist on injured reserve.

Pederson successfully made it through waivers back in October while he was still with Carolina.  With them, he played in four games with AHL Chicago before being included as a salary offset in the trade that also saw Vancouver pick up defenseman Ethan Bear.  The 25-year-old remained in the minors with Abbotsford for nearly two months, averaging just shy of a goal per game which earned him a recall in late November.

Since being brought up, Pederson had been a regular for the Canucks, getting into 11 games (including last night’s contest against Columbus while on waivers), picking up a goal and two assists while averaging just under 13 minutes a night.  For his career, Pederson has two goals and six helpers in 55 games between Arizona, San Jose, and Vancouver.  He’s on a one-way contract for the league minimum salary of $750K and is arbitration-eligible if he can get into 25 more games this season.  Otherwise, he becomes a Group Six unrestricted free agent.

The move is a low-risk flyer for the Blue Jackets who needed a replacement for Nyquist who is out indefinitely while there’s a strong chance they’ll be trading a few players between now and the March 3rd deadline so extra bodies were going to be needed at some point.  Pederson has a chance to play a regular role in Columbus in the hopes of finding some NHL stability that has so far eluded him across four different organizations.

Matthew Peca Clears Waivers

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Jan 27: Peca has cleared waivers and can continue to play with the Thunderbirds.

Jan 26: Two players are coming off injured reserve for the St. Louis Blues. Robert Bortuzzo is joining the active roster, while Matthew Peca, who has been on season-opening injured reserve, has been placed on waivers according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets.

Peca, 29, has spent the last two weeks on a conditioning loan to the AHL, where he recorded five points in six games for the Springfield Thunderbirds. His placement on waivers today allows him to continue playing for the minor league club, but requires activation from IR.

Of course, another team could also claim the depth forward. Through parts of several seasons, Peca has totaled 83 NHL games and scored 21 points. Last season for St. Louis he suited up just five times but was outstanding for the Thunderbirds, scoring 23 goals and 60 points in 68 games.

Bortuzzo, meanwhile, last played on January 7 and has appeared in 30 games for the Blues this season. The veteran defender has just one point in those games and averages 12 minutes a night in a very specific role.

Activating him now will give the Blues a bit more toughness and depth on the back end, but shouldn’t have much of an impact on their overall play. With him on the roster, the Blues are now carrying eight defensemen. Calle Rosen was the scratch in the team’s most recent game.

Lane Pederson Placed On Waivers

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed Lane Pederson on waivers today for the purpose of assigning him to the minor leagues.

It’s a curious move, given the Canucks brought Pederson in along with Ethan Bear earlier this season and have a player in Phil Di Giuseppe that could be sent to the minors without issue. Pederson has apparently played himself back off the roster, despite only getting a few opportunities.

Through ten games since arriving in Vancouver, Pederson has three points and 15 penalty minutes, last appearing in a game on January 21.

Pederson did clear waivers at the beginning of the season with the Hurricanes, and played 18 games with the Abbotsford Canucks before a recall in December. The reason that call-up was so exciting was the 17 goals he had in the AHL, scoring at nearly a goal-per-game pace.

While he’s not expected to ever do that at the NHL level, it is a bit surprising to see him back on waivers now. Even more so because he was skating next to Andrei Kuzmenko and Elias Pettersson this morning, according to team broadcaster Brendan Batchelor.

Anton Blidh, Dryden Hunt Clear Waivers

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Jan 23: Both players have cleared waivers, meaning they can be assigned to the minor leagues.

Jan 22: Two players will be on today’s waiver wire, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The Colorado Avalanche have waived forward Anton Blidh, while the Toronto Maple Leafs have waived forward Dryden Hunt.

Blidh lands on waivers for the second time this season after clearing them before the start of the regular season. After signing a one-year, two-way deal to join the Avalanche last offseason, Blidh has made 13 NHL appearances as injuries have stricken the team’s forward corps. He’s yet to get on the scoresheet.

If Blidh clears, he’ll return to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. There, he has six goals, three assists, and nine points in 23 games. While he’s never been an offensive force in the minors, the 2013 sixth-round pick was brought to Colorado to provide a hard-nosed depth option, similar to the role Nicolas Aube-Kubel held last year.

Hunt, on the other hand, now runs the risk of suiting up for his fourth NHL team just this season. Waived by the New York Rangers a week into the season, he was claimed by the Avalanche to serve as an upgrade over Blidh’s role. After scoring once in 25 games with Colorado, he was dealt to the Maple Leafs in exchange for forward Denis Malgin.

With just one point (a goal) in nine games with the Leafs, though, the organization has opted to try and sneak him through waivers. Hunt was a full-time NHLer last season with the Rangers, recording 17 points in 76 games. He’s in the final year of a two-year contract carrying a cap hit of $762,500.

 

Jonny Brodzinski Clears Waivers

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Jan 22: Brodzinski has cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The Rangers are free to re-assign him to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack.

Jan 21: The Rangers have been shuffling around their fourth line all season and it appears another change could be forthcoming as NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that they’ve placed winger Jonny Brodzinski on waivers.

This is the second time that the 29-year-old has been on the waiver wire this season having also been there at the end of training camp.  Brodzinski cleared at that time and spent most of the first two months of the year with AHL Hartford where he picked up two goals and seven assists in 17 games.  He was recalled in early December and has basically been up since then, seeing action in 16 games with the big club, notching a goal and an assist in a little over nine minutes of playing time per game.  Having played in more than 10 games, he needs to clear waivers again before he can rejoin the Wolf Pack.

Brodzinski is in the first season of a two-year, two-way deal worth the NHL minimum in both seasons, good for a cap hit of $762.5K.  He has seen NHL action in each of the last seven years spanning 100 games along the way.  New York didn’t need to waive him as they had an open roster spot already but if he passes through unclaimed on Sunday, it will allow them to send Brodzinski down or at least shuffle him back and forth a bit to bank some extra cap space heading into the trade deadline in early March.

Vinnie Hinostroza, Michael McCarron Clear Waivers

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Jan 19: Both Hinostroza and McCarron have cleared. They can now be sent to the minor leagues. For Buffalo, that means JJ Peterka can come back up, after being sent to the AHL this morning.

Jan 18: The Buffalo Sabres were trying to find a new home for Vinnie Hinostroza, and now they might just let him go for nothing. The veteran forward has been placed on waivers today, along with Nashville Predators forward Michael McCarron, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Friedman reports that McCarron is returning to play after entering the Player Assistance Program last month, and would be headed to the Milwaukee Admirals if he clears.

Hinostroza’s $1.7MM cap hit makes him a tough asset for teams to acquire, but clearing waivers actually could facilitate a trade. Any team would then be able to stash him in the minor leagues, burying $1.125MM until he gets back up to speed. A veteran of more than 350 NHL games, Hinostroza has played just 19 this year and doesn’t have a single goal.

If he goes unclaimed, the Sabres will at least be able to give him some playing time with the Rochester Americans. It’s not perfect, but at least would get him back on the ice regularly.

McCarron, meanwhile, hasn’t played since early December and has just two points in 15 games this season for the Predators. If there’s any chance of him suiting up for Nashville down the stretch, he needs some time in the AHL to get his legs back.

The 27-year-old forward costs just $750K, but is an unlikely target for claim given his recent absence.

Jake Lucchini Clears Waivers

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Jan 18: Lucchini has cleared waivers and was assigned to the minor leagues.

Jan 17: The Ottawa Senators have placed Jake Lucchini on waivers today according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets, which would allow them to return him to the minor leagues. The depth forward already cleared earlier this season, but played his 11th game of the year last night, meaning his status has reset.

Lucchini, 27, received his first taste of NHL action this season, after toiling in the minor leagues since 2018. Stops in Wilke-Barre/Scranton and Laval didn’t go very well, but the undrafted center exploded last year for the Belleville Senators, scoring 20 goals and 51 points in 72 games. After starting this season on an even better pace, he has managed to carve out a small role in the Ottawa depth chart.

Though he likely won’t be an impact player for them, Lucchini will probably see some more NHL action at some point down the road.

The bigger implication here is that Joshua Norris could be ready to return for the Senators. The 23-year-old center set a career-high with 35 goals in just 66 games for the team last season, but has suited up just five times this year. After missing several months, his return would be a huge boost for an Ottawa team just trying to build their program and stay competitive. The playoffs may not be possible – they currently sit 19-21-3 – but development for their young players could easily lead to more success a year from now.

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