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Adam Brooks Placed On Waivers

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In an interesting turn of events, the Toronto Maple Leafs have placed Adam Brooks right back on waivers today after claiming him yesterday. It is the fourth time that Brooks has ended up on waivers this season.

Normally, if a player is reclaimed by his former team on waivers and no one else puts in a claim, that team can send him directly to the minor leagues. But since Brooks had a stop-off with the Montreal Canadiens in between his stints with Toronto and the Vegas Golden Knights, only Montreal was allowed that exception. The Maple Leafs could not send him to the AHL without first clearing waivers again. That could certainly be possible this time as even for the Maple Leafs to claim him yesterday, most of the league (including the Canadiens) would have had to pass. Toronto sits near the very end of the waiver order, which is based on the reverse standings.

Still, the Golden Knights now hold that exception, and if they are the only team to put in a claim this time around now they could assign Brooks directly to the minor leagues. That would be a risky move though, as if someone else claims him as well, the Golden Knights would have to keep him on the active roster–something that wasn’t possible given the recent Jack Eichel activation. If any other team claims him, including Montreal, he would have to stay on the active roster.

It’s a lot of roster and cap gymnastics but what it mostly comes down to is Brooks available once again. The 25-year-old forward has two goals and three points in 11 games this season, split between the Golden Knights and Canadiens. Perhaps this time there will be some stability for the fourth-round pick, at one level or another.

Toronto Maple Leafs Claim Adam Brooks

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Adam Brooks is headed back to the place he has spent most of his career. CapFriendly reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs have claimed Brooks off waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights. This is the third time Brooks has been claimed so far this season. The team has also moved Timothy Liljegren to the AHL to make room, something that suggests there may be more coming for Toronto in the coming days.

Originally under contract with the Maple Leafs, Brooks ended up on waivers at the outset of the season because of a roster crunch in Toronto. He was claimed by the Montreal Canadiens, where he proceeded to play in four games over the next month. Back on waivers he went in mid-November, only to this time be claimed by the Golden Knights. That’s where he’s been for months since, though his time in Vegas hasn’t been very fruitful. Brooks has played just seven games for the Golden Knights and five more for the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL while on a conditioning loan.

For the past several weeks, he’s been on injured reserve and his placement on waivers this time suggests he’s ready to return to action.

A fourth-round pick in 2016, Brooks has just 29 regular season NHL games under his belt to this point but has actually been rather productive in them. Despite averaging just over ten minutes a night, he has six goals and 11 points–an 82-game pace of 17 goals, 31 points. That’s certainly a valuable player to have in the organization, even if his size and strength–or lack thereof–sometimes mean he’s not a perfect fit in the bottom-six.

It will be interesting to see what kind of role he has in Toronto, given the team already has veterans like Kyle Clifford and Nick Ritchie buried in the minor leagues. One thing Brooks has going for him is his price tag; the 25-year-old forward carries a cap hit of just $725K, less than the league minimum salary. Brooks will be a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer when his current two-year, two-way contract expires.

Adam Brooks Placed On Waivers

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The Vegas Golden Knights had to remove one more player from their NHL roster in order to activate Jack Eichel, and they’ve decided it will be Adam Brooks. The depth forward has been placed on waivers according to CapFriendly, the third time he’s ended up there this season. Previously, Brooks had been claimed by the Montreal Canadiens from the Toronto Maple Leafs, and then the Golden Knights from the Canadiens. He’s now up for grabs once again.

Brooks, 25, has played just seven games for the Golden Knights since being claimed in November, scoring his only two goals of the season. He did go to the minor leagues on a conditioning stint for a short period, but in order to be assigned there full-time, has to clear waivers.

Whether he clears this time still remains to be seen, as Brooks represents a useful fourth-line forward with a bit of powerplay upside in the right situation. Even in his short NHL career, which spans just 29 regular season games, he has scored six goals and 11 points. A superstar in junior, recording 250 points over his final two years with the Regina Pats, he’s exactly the type of player who seems to ride right on the edge between the minor leagues and NHL. The fact that he is a natural center but can also play the wing only helps his case, as does his super-low cap hit of $725K.

Unfortunately, given he has been on injured reserve since the middle of January, teams probably can’t be sure that he’s ready to contribute. That could allow him to slip through and be sent to Henderson, where he can remain useful depth for the cap-strapped Golden Knights.

Brad Malone, Justin Dowling Clear Waivers

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Feb 11: Malone and Dowling have both cleared, according to Friedman. They can now be assigned to the minor leagues.

Feb 10: The waiver wire has two players on it today, as Brad Malone of the Edmonton Oilers and Justin Dowling of the Vancouver Canucks are both available for claim according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. If Malone’s name surprises you, it should; the veteran forward had been playing on an AHL contract but has now signed a one-year, two-way, NHL deal with the Oilers. In order to return to Bakersfield for the time being, he needs to clear waivers after signing the new deal.

Malone, 32, is the captain of the Condors, meaning he likely has a close relationship with Jay Woodcroft, who is now taking over as head coach of the Oilers after Dave Tippett was let go earlier today. That isn’t necessarily the reason for this contract though, as reports had surfaced much earlier in the year that Edmonton wanted to sign Malone to an NHL deal but couldn’t for salary cap reasons. Still, Woodcroft’s promotion could certainly mean that there is a bit of NHL playing time in Malone’s future, depending on what happens with the rest of the roster.

If he does come back up at some point, it certainly wouldn’t be a new experience. Malone has more than 200 NHL games under his belt to this point, including some playoff contests back when he was with the Colorado Avalanche organization. He played 16 games with the Oilers in 2018-19, his last appearance in the NHL.

Dowling meanwhile has played in 22 games with the Canucks this season, including last night’s loss against the New York Islanders. He has just two goals and four points in those matches, while usually seeing less than ten minutes of ice time. Because he’s in just the first season of a two-year, one-way contract, it seems unlikely that another team would claim him unless they feel he can make an immediate impact in the lineup. The 31-year-old has just 18 points in 98 career regular season games.

Seattle Kraken Claim Dennis Cholowski

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As expected, the Seattle Kraken have reclaimed Dennis Cholowski off waivers from the Washington Capitals according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The young defenseman had been lost at the beginning of the season without ever actually suiting up for Seattle.

Cholowski, 23, ended up playing in just seven games for the Capitals during his time in Washington, spending more time in the press box than in the lineup. That’s sort of been the story of his career the last few years, as the first-round pick has played just 59 NHL games since the start of 2019-20. That is only a few more than he had as a rookie in 2018-19 when he came almost directly to the Detroit Red Wings lineup in his first year of professional hockey.

It was from Detroit that Cholowski was originally selected by the Kraken in the expansion draft. He ended up on waivers at the beginning of the season though thanks to an overloaded defense corps and ended up heading east. His return to the Kraken depth chart is an interesting one, given where the team now sits in the standings. With the trade deadline approaching, there could be some opportunities for the Seattle front office to flip some of their more veteran defensemen, thus opening up an opportunity for someone like Cholowski.

Still, he’ll have to show more consistency than he has to this point if he wants to lock down a full-time NHL job. Because the Kraken were the only team to put in a claim this time around, he can be immediately assigned to the minor leagues. The team did so, sending him to the Charlotte Checkers, the AHL club they are sharing this season.

Seattle Kraken Claim Austin Czarnik

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The Seattle Kraken have nabbed a depth forward off waivers, selecting Austin Czarnik from the New York Islanders according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The veteran minor leaguer will join Seattle’s active roster.

Czarnik, 29, will actually be an interesting player to follow with the Kraken, given his obvious offensive upside. The 5’9″ forward has lit up the minor leagues over the years, routinely putting up point-per-game seasons. Even in the NHL he’s been relatively productive with 43 points in 136 career games, including five this year in 11 with the Islanders. If he’s given a more offensive role with the expansion club, perhaps some of that production can make its way to the Kraken scoresheet.

The fact that he carries a cap hit of just $725K also makes him a potential deadline trade piece, should a contender be dealing with any injury issues. Not that he’d bring much back in any deal, but a waiver claim from the Kraken does nothing but add an asset to the organization while they continue to try and find their way forward. It also could represent some insurance for a different trade, with players like Calle Jarnkrok and Marcus Johansson in the rumor mill as pending unrestricted free agents.

In any case, the move from New York to Seattle will probably be a good one for Czarnik, who should see some playing time when he arrives and gets acclimated. The Kraken are in action tomorrow night and have nine games left in February alone.

Dennis Cholowski Placed On Waivers

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The Washington Capitals have placed Dennis Cholowski on waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the second time he’s found himself there this season. The Capitals claimed Cholowski from the Seattle Kraken at the beginning of the season and now he could be on his way to another team.

The 23-year-old played just seven games for the Capitals during his stint in Washington, averaging fewer than 14 minutes of ice time whenever he did get into the lineup. It’s been a dramatic fall-off for a player that was selected 20th overall in 2016 and quickly made his way to the NHL. In 2018-19, Cholowski played 52 games as a rookie for the Detroit Red Wings, but has just 59 in the three years since.

It would certainly make sense for the Kraken to put in a claim, adding him back to their depth chart. That said, as a pending restricted free agent that very well may go unqualified, the team may decide to just move on. Cholowski was Seattle’s choice in the expansion draft but already it seems as though that was likely a mistake, given some of the other names available to them at the time.

Perhaps there is still more to come from the 6’2″ defenseman, but given he’ll turn 24 in a few days and has struggled to provide any level of consistency at the NHL level, the minor leagues appear to be in his immediate future.

Austin Czarnik Placed On Waivers

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The New York Islanders have placed Austin Czarnik on waivers according to CapFriendly, as teams return from the All-Star break. The move suggests he’s ready to return to action after going on injured reserve last month. After clearing earlier in the season, he has spent enough time with the NHL club to require waivers again before being assigned to the AHL.

Czarnik, 29, has five points in 11 games with the Islanders this season despite averaging fewer than 11 minutes in his limited appearances. The 5’9″ forward has always been an excellent minor league scorer–his 15 points in 20 games this season is actually a step down from his usual rate–but has had trouble landing a regular gig in the NHL. In 2018-19 he played in 54 games for the Calgary Flames but has suited up just 23 times since then.

While he did clear at the beginning of the season, Czarnik actually is an interesting waiver case at this point in the season as teams deal with injuries and illnesses. He can obviously hold his own at the NHL level and actually comes with a cap hit–$725K–lower than the league’s minimum salary. His recent injury certainly complicates that, but he did see NHL action as recently as January 22.

Michael Houser Clears Waivers

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Feb 3: Friedman reports that Houser has cleared waivers. He can now be sent to the minor leagues.

Feb 2: The Buffalo Sabres, finally getting some goaltenders healthy again, have placed Michael Houser on waivers today according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The team had Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski dressed last night, meaning Houser can now return to the minor leagues and wait for his next NHL opportunity.

It’s been an interesting year for Houser, who was playing in the ECHL as recently as 2019-20. The undrafted netminder was on a minor league deal last season when the Sabres were forced to sign him to an NHL contract and put him in the net. The exact same situation happened again this season when he was signed in mid-January after more goaltending issues in Buffalo. Despite all that he has actually been excellent when called upon and now spots a career NHL save percentage of .917 through six appearances.

Still, the chance of him being claimed at this point is extremely low given his checkered history in the minor leagues, which only even includes 23 AHL appearances since the start of the 2015-16 season. Should he clear as expected, he’ll likely go back to Rochester where the Americans are scheduled to play 13 games in February.

It will be interesting to see who would be the first call-up should the Sabres run into any other goaltending trouble, after Aaron Dell was also sent to the AHL earlier this week. The veteran goaltender appears to have served his full suspension by staying on the active roster through the game against the Colorado Avalanche, meaning he could be recalled and play for the Sabres whenever necessary.

Slater Koekkoek Clears Waivers

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Feb 2: Koekkoek has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the minor leagues.

Feb 1: The Edmonton Oilers have placed Slater Koekkoek on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Koekkoek, 27, was signed to a new two-year contract in August, but has already found himself on the outside looking in for the Oilers. Originally selected 10th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2012, the 6’2″ defenseman has never really been able to establish himself as a full-time NHL option.

In Edmonton, nothing changed, as Koekkoek averaged just over 11 minutes a night in his 19 appearances this season. That included recent games against the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames, but with the emergence of William Lagesson he once again found himself out of the lineup.

The fact that Koekkoek is owed $1.1MM next season–his contract carries a cap hit of $925K–might make him a very unattractive claim to teams around the NHL. If that’s enough to get him through waivers, the Oilers could potentially stash him in the AHL and bury his entire cap hit. That would give them a little more financial wiggle room with Mike Smith nearing a return from long-term injured reserve.

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