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Jason Cotton, Kyle Rau Placed On Waivers

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April 7: Both players have cleared waivers. Rau can now be assigned to the taxi squad, while Cotton will see his contract terminated.

April 6: Another day, another two players on waivers. The Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild have placed Jason Cotton and Kyle Rau on waivers respectively, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. Cotton, who is waiver-exempt and playing in the minor leagues, is likely on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination.

Cotton, 26, signed a one-year contract with the Hurricanes last spring after his college career came to an end, but has seen mostly the ECHL this season. The 6’3″ winger has six points in 17 games for the Fort Wayne Komets and is unlikely to ever see time with the Hurricanes. A termination would make him an unrestricted free agent and allow him to pursue other opportunities.

Rau meanwhile has been a part-time NHL player for the Wild this season, following several excellent minor league campaigns. The 28-year-old has played in ten games for Minnesota, meaning his waiver clock needed to be reset if they wanted to move him back to the taxi squad or minor leagues. At this point, Rau almost certainly won’t be claimed given he has scored just six points in 52 NHL games.

Lucas Wallmark, Tanner Kero Clear Waivers

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April 6: Both players have cleared waivers and can be assigned to the taxi squad or minor leagues.

April 5: Two more players have hit waivers today, after Luke Johnson and Jacob de La Rose cleared today. The Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars have placed Lucas Wallmark and Tanner Kero on waivers respectively according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Wallmark, 25, still doesn’t have a goal this season for the Blackhawks and has been limited to just three points in 16 games. Once a regular with the Carolina Hurricanes, he has become a part-time depth player with Chicago and, with the recent acquisition of Vinnie Hinostroza, on the outside looking in. With a cap hit of $950K there is a chance he is claimed, but it seems much more likey that Wallmark will clear and find himself on the taxi squad.

The same can be said about Kero, even if he has been playing well of late. The 28-year-old has five points in 20 games for the Stars this season, his first taste of NHL action since 2017-18. Given that Kero has already cleared waivers twice this season, Dallas should feel comfortable about putting him through again. If he isn’t claimed, he can once again bounce back and forth between the taxi squad and active roster, saving the team some cap on off days.

Luke Johnson, Jacob de La Rose Clear Waivers

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April 5: Both players have cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the taxi squad or minor leagues.

April 4: A pair of depth forwards hit the waiver wire today, added by a couple of competing West Division contenders no less. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Minnesota Wild’s Luke Johnson and the St. Louis Blues’ Jacob de La Rose have been waived. Edmonton’s Joakim Nygard, the only player on waivers on Saturday, has cleared.

Johnson, 26, cleared waivers early this season, but his most recent outing with Minnesota marked the ten-game limit that necessitated another go-round. The former Chicago Blackhawks prospect, now in his second season with the Wild, is unlikely to be claimed. Johnson has one point in 28 career NHL games and has yet to record a point with Minnesota in two years. While his minor league production has previously been impressive, he has only played in two games with AHL Iowa this season, spending most of his time on the Minnesota taxi squad. And that is where Johnson is likely to remain for much of the remainder of this season.

De La Rose, 25, could be more of a risk, albeit is still unlikely to be claimed. The 2013 second-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens was claimed the very first time he was waived, snagged by the Detroit Red Wings back in 2018. Detroit then traded de La Rose to the Blues early last season in a one-for-one deal to land Robby Fabbri, a swap that has worked out nicely for the Red Wings. In St. Louis, de La Rose has failed to make much of an impact and has been slowed by injuries as well. While his offensive game has never reached his draft expectations, de La Rose’s physical contributions have also slipped this year, leading to a career-low in ice time. For the Blues, it likely no longer made sense to reserve an active roster spot for the Swedish forward. Whether another team sees enough ice time to make a claim remains to be seen, but it would not be a major loss for St. Louis if it does happen.

Overseas Notes: Komarov, Kadeykin, Nickl

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New York Islanders forward Leo Komarov is far from a free agent. Not only is the veteran still actively playing with the Islanders this season, who hope to have a long playoff run ahead of them as well, but Komarov also has one year left on his current deal. Yet, that hasn’t stopped European clubs from making their interest known, should Komarov be bought out by New York this off-season. After all, Komarov had landed on waivers thrice this season and has just four points in 21 games. The Islanders could easily see the upside in opening up more than $1MM in savings next season by buying out the remaining year and $3MM cap hit of Komarov’s contract. There would not likely be much NHL interest in the 34-year-old either if he hits the open market this summer, hence the push from European suitors already. Just how far has the early courting process already come? Finnish hockey insider Markus Nuutinen reports that Komarov actually has a handshake agreement in place for next season in the event he is bought out by the Islanders, but it isn’t in his native Finland. Instead, Komarov is expected to return to the KHL’s Dynamo Moscow, the same club he was with prior to beginning his NHL career back in 2012-13. There are obviously no terms available yet for this unofficial agreement, but it would come as little surprise if a Komarov reunion with Moscow does come to fruition.

  • Though most Detroit Red Wings fans have likely forgotten or are unaware of the name Alexander Kadeykin, the club is assuredly keeping tabs on him. Unfortunately, they will not have the opportunity to negotiate with the KHL forward for yet another year. Following a career year with Salavat Yulaev Ufa, in which he set new highs in goals and points, Kadeykin has signed a one-year extension to remain with Ufa, the club announced. It certainly didn’t hurt his extension chances that Kadeykin was second on the team in postseason scoring, as Ufa made it to the conference semifinals of the Gagarin Cup. Kadeykin, 27, was a seventh-round pick of the Red Wings in 2014 and since he has never made the move overseas, he remains under indefinite team control. One more year in the KHL does not completely rule out the chances that he will ever sign with Detroit, but with each passing year it grows more and more unlikely. Should Kadeykin finally decide to try his hand in the world’s top league, the 6’5″, 220-lb. center with ever-improving offensive numbers would certainly be a name to watch.
  • Anaheim Ducks defensive prospect Thimo Nickl returned to Europe this season after spending last year in the QMJHL, a decision that was likely spurred by numerous factors. The young blue liner initially signed with the U-20 club of Rogle BK, but that was a short-lived stint. After recording five points in his first nine games at the junior level, Nickl was recalled to the SHL squad and has never looked back. In fact, Rogle has been so impressed with the 19-year-old that they have signed him to a one-year extension on an SHL contract. This is unlikely to bother the Ducks at all; a 2020 fourth-round pick out of Austria, Nickl was not expected to push for a spot in the organization any time soon. Playing against pro competition in Sweden, and more so finding success, is surely a developmental path that Anaheim is content to let him follow. The next challenge for Nickl will be postseason play, with the SHL playoffs approaching and Rogle sitting pretty in second place.

Joakim Nygard Clears Waivers

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Sunday: Nygard has cleared waivers, as expected. It remains to be seen what comes next for the Oilers forward, whose waiver placement this time around was not necessary for any roster maintenance requirements.

Saturday: The Oilers have been placing veterans on waivers throughout the season to give them roster flexibility and they have done so again as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Joakim Nygard has been placed on waivers.

A year ago, the 28-year-old showed a bit of promise in a limited role, notching nine points (3-6-9) in 33 games, most of which were spent on the fourth line.  That was enough to earn him a one-year, $875K extension, one that actually represented a small dip in pay from the $925K he made on his entry-level deal.  However, things haven’t gone as well this season.  He cleared waivers back in January and has played in just six games with Edmonton after suiting up for 15 with Farjestad of the SHL prior to the start of the NHL campaign.

Interestingly enough, this isn’t a waiver placement to get Nygard to the taxi squad as he already is there now.  Assuming he clears once more though, his clock will be reset, meaning he can play in up to nine games before needing to clear again.

Evgeny Svechnikov Clears Waivers

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Saturday: Svechnikov has cleared waivers, Friedman reports.

Friday: According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Detroit Red Wings have placed Evgeny Svechnikov on waivers for the second time this season after the young forward cleared in early January. Now that he has played 10 games for the Red Wings this season, he needed to clear waivers again to be assigned to the taxi squad or minor leagues.

Svechnikov, 24, has never developed into the top-six power forward that Detroit hoped for when they selected him 19th overall in 2015. His younger brother Andrei Svechnikov has reached those heights in Carolina, but the Red Wings forward has instead toiled at the minor league level for almost all of his professional career. In 30 NHL games, Svechnikov has nine points, five of those coming this season. Even in the minor leagues though things haven’t gone smoothly, with Svechnikov only recording 60 points in 112 AHL games since the start of 2017-18.

Of course, part of the reason why that number is so low is the entire season he missed in 2018-19 after suffering a major knee injury. While that can’t be completely blamed for his stalled development, it certainly didn’t help things.

There have been flashes of potential this season, but Svechnikov doesn’t appear to really be in the long-term plans for the Red Wings. His one-year contract will expire at the end of this season and leaves him a restricted free agent again. Should a team want to claim him now, he’d have to remain on their NHL roster until clearing waivers in the future.

Three Players Clear Waivers

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April 2: All three players have cleared waivers and can be assigned to their respective taxi squads or minor league teams.

April 1: The waiver wire has some interesting names on it today, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Tyler Ennis of the Edmonton Oilers, Nikita Gusev of the New Jersey Devils, and Matt Luff of the Los Angeles Kings have all been placed on waivers. The trio of forwards are available for claim by the rest of the league.

Gusev’s name will stand out among the group, given how recently he was considered an up-and-coming name in the NHL. The 28-year-old made a splashy debut for the Devils last season, scoring 44 points in 66 games after signing a two-year, $9MM deal. The Devils only had his rights in the first place after trading second and third-round picks to the Vegas Golden Knights, a deal they might want to reverse if they had the chance.

In 20 games this season, Gusev has just five points and has received 16 or more minutes of ice time just twice. Since the beginning of March he has registered just one point and played a season-low 8:41 just a few games ago. With his $4.5MM cap hit that just isn’t cutting it, meaning the end to his Devils career might be coming quickly. Gusev is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and the team has several top forward prospects pushing for roster spots. One of them, the recently-signed Tyce Thompson, joined practice today for the first time. While it seems very unlikely that Gusev will be claimed, perhaps a deal could be made with a team should the Devils be willing to eat some of his cap hit. Clearing waivers would make him a more desirable trade asset, since he will be able to be placed on the taxi squad.

Ennis has been here before, clearing waivers in January for the Oilers. The undersized forward is a useful player, but one that can only fit certain roles. For Edmonton, room was needed on the active roster and under the salary cap to add Alex Stalock, who will serve as additional goalie depth down the stretch. Given Ennis has already cleared once, the chance of claim this time around remains low.

Luff started the year on injured reserve and has played just 11 games for the Kings, but doesn’t represent much offensive upside anyway. The 23-year-old winger went undrafted and has made it to the NHL after grinding it out in the minor leagues, but has just one point this season. His contract is a two-way deal worth $700K, which means he might actually draw the most interest on the wire, but just like most of the other skaters this season is more likely to clear and be assigned to the taxi squad.

Nick Holden, Liam O’Brien Clear Waivers

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March 31: Though Gostisbehere will still claim the headlines, Holden and O’Brien also cleared waivers today. Both players can be assigned to the taxi squad or, in O’Brien’s case, kept in the AHL.

March 30: While Shayne Gostisbehere got all the waiver attention, two more players were put on waivers Tuesday. The Vegas Golden Knights placed veteran defenseman Nick Holden on waivers again, while the Colorado Avalanche sent Liam O’Brien through waivers after signing him to a one-year deal earlier this morning, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Holden already cleared waivers earlier this season, but a player must pass through waivers again if he has played 10 games in the NHL. For Holden, the veteran is at 13 games and with everyday salary meaning so much, the team must attempt to pass him through waivers once again. Whether he will be claimed is a different story as more teams are eager to add to their ailing blueline. However, Holden is making $1.7MM AAV not only for this year, but for next year as well and many teams may want to avoid that second year, considering he is already 33 years old. Holden has one assist in 13 games for the Golden Knights, averaging 15:44 of ice time.

As for O’Brien, the Avalanche signed him and were forced to put him on waivers to either assign him back to the Eagles or put him on the taxi squad.

Philadelphia Flyers’ Shayne Gostisbehere Clears Waivers

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March 31: Gostisbehere has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the taxi squad or AHL.

March 30: The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have placed defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere on waivers. While the career of the blueliner has been derailed in recent years due to injuries and on-ice struggles, Gostisbehere is still young at 27 years and only a few years away from his 65-point season in 2017-18.

With many teams successfully attempting to ease cap concerns by placing large contracts on waivers, this might seem to be something similar with Philadelphia hoping that Gostisbehere’s $4.5MM contract might dissuade most teams from claiming the defenseman. While that still might be the case, there are plenty of teams in desperate need of defensive help and while many of those teams are capped out, it wouldn’t be hard to suggest that a change of scenery away from Philadelphia could alter the career of Gostisbehere.

In fact, Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Philadelphia is trying to free up some cap room to make a major trade, perhaps even hoping a team might claim Gostisbehere.

His big season in 2017-18 (13 goals & 65 points) had many believing at the time that Gostisbehere would develop into a superstar, cornerstone blueliner. Instead, he struggled after that, posting just nine goals and 37 points the following year with injuries affecting his game as well. He scored just five goals and 12 points last season in 42 games and while Gostisbehere has been slightly better this year with five goals and 11 points in 25 games, the defenseman has not been able to come close to the star that Philadelphia thought he would be.

Of course, with the Flyers struggling significantly, which includes almost losing to the hapless Sabres Monday, general manager Chuck Fletcher might also be looking to just shake up the team. Moving out a player like Gostisbehere could send a significant message to the team.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that even non-playoff teams might be interested in Gostisbehere and could claim him. He is still just 27 years old and while he carries a $4.5MM AAV for the next two years, he is only actually drawing $3.25MM in salary. That could be attractive to teams like Ottawa, Buffalo, Detroit and the Los Angeles Kings who have the cap space to bring in Gostisbehere. Another possibility could be the Florida Panthers, who are in need of defensive help after the injury to Aaron Ekblad. In fact, Gostisbehere is from Pembroke Pines, Florida, not far from the Panthers’ home.

Any team interested in claiming him would have be required to have $1.525MM in projected cap space or $4.5MM in salary pool relief for clubs currently in LTIR, according to CapFriendly.

Artem Anisimov, Scott Harrington Placed On Waivers

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Tuesday: Both Anisimov and Harrington have cleared, according to Friedman.

Monday: Two veterans have hit waivers today, as Artem Anisimov of the Ottawa Senators and Scott Harrington of the Columbus Blue Jackets are available for claim, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.

Anisimov already cleared in February, but has bounced back and forth from the taxi squad to the active roster enough to need his waiver clock reset. Despite spending some of the time on injured reserve, the veteran forward has played ten games since he cleared, meaning if the team wanted to put him back on the taxi squad or in the minor leagues, he needed to go through the process again.

The 32-year-old Anisimov has played in just 14 games this season and has four points, totals that compare poorly even to his disappointing 2019-20 campaign. He at least scored 15 goals for the Senators last year, though he was still obviously a shell of his former self. Carrying a $4.55MM cap hit, there’s virtually no chance that another team claims Anisimov at this point.

Harrington meanwhile has continued to serve in a depth role for the Blue Jackets, playing just six games this season. The 28-year-old defenseman is closing in on 200 games in his NHL career, but doesn’t represent much more than an injury replacement or taxi squad filler at this point. For his cap hit of $1.63MM that’s not enough, meaning it should come as much of a surprise that he finds himself on waivers.

By moving Harrington to the taxi squad or waivers, the Blue Jackets can bury $1.075MM of his cap hit. He also appears to be a potential buyout candidate for the summer when he will still have one year remaining on his deal. Despite the fact that he is a defenseman, Harrington also seems unlikely to be claimed given his cap hit.

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