Some Interesting Waiver Wire Names....

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

 

From NBC Sports:
https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2019/09/30/ho-sang-desmith-sprong-headline-waiver-wire/

 

Due to cap crunches or uncertainty with some teams on how players will fit into their lineups, some surprising names have shown up as being placed on waivers by their respective teams.

Heading the list, at least for me, is Pittsburgh's Casey DeSmith.
Here is a guy who has been an excellent backup netminder, and at times has taken the reigns for short periods, is on a team friendly 1.25M AAV deal for the next three years, is still under 30 years of age....and because the Pens find themselves in a cap pinch, they are forced to go with Murray/Jarry as their goalie tandem.

Wow.
Last season, I was hoping that somehow, some way, the Minnesota Wild could snatch DeSmith away from the Pens and have him either backup Devan Dubnyk or split time with him in the crease and they could do away with Alex Stalock.
The Pens quickly signed DeSmith before it got to the point where another team could sign him, but now, they may not be able to keep him unless they move another contract elsewhere on the roster.

Wild still have 3 contract spots available (47/50 according to capfriendly), and if they need to bury Stalock in order to get DeSmith, I'd be on board with that.

Some other names the article highlights are Josh Ho-Sang of the Islanders and Daniel Sprong of the Ducks.
Both these players have yet to realize the kind of potential that had been expected of them, but both are also just 23 and 22 years old respectively and have to believe that some team somewhere, can help unlock their talents on the ice.

Veteran guys whose names jumped out at me are:
Luke Schenn (D-TB Lightning)...tough rugged and a LOT better than most remember him playing in Philadelphia and earlier on in Arizona. The Bolts do seem to be quite deep, so I can see why he may be the odd man out, but a young veteran guy (30 yrs old) who has shown improvement in his overall play on a very friendly team deal ($700k for just one year) should look attractive to a team in need of a solid bottom pair defenseman.

Sven Baertschi (LW-Vancouver)…. An average playing type winger (soon to be 27), but who seems to be able to chip in points, decent skater. If only he had a clear cut, defined role on a deeper team (probably a two way type player on someone's third line), he may do better than trying to be a Boeser, Horvat, Pettersson caliber type player on the Canucks (which he is NOT).
His 3.36M AAV hit may be a bit high for what he brings, but still, if a team can absorb that, and tell him, "look, THIS is what we want you to do, nothing more, nothing less", I think he may be a nice surprise. Guy just seems to be able to do a bit of everything, even though none of it is elite, including maintaining possession of the puck as he doesn't often turn it over.

 

Curtis Lazar (F-Buffalo)…. Can ANYONE find the player that did real well playing for the WHL's Edmonton Oil Kings before he came to the NHL?
He is still just 24, has a decent mid sized frame, but has mostly been stuck on rebuilding teams...but when he was on Ottawa before they went completely south, he started to show signs of coming around to NHL level acceptability.

Perhaps on a more established team, away from the spotlight, he can quietly go about piecing his game back together, and even if he never becomes an elite talent in the NHL, might still be able to be solid, regular contributor.
Just a 700K cap hit, and he will be an RFA after this season. Might be worth a look for a non rebuilding team.

Any thoughts on any other players on this list?


 

Edited September 30, 2019 by TropicalFruitGirl26

[yave1964]

@TropicalFruitGirl26

 

Baertchi is not a favorite of mine but he was a mild surprise to me, a 15-20 goal guy kind of a low IQ but goals are goals and Vancouver letting him go says they are starting to get a plan in place. He and DeSmith were the two biggest surprises to me.

 

 Others on the list:

 

Daniel Sprong was a bit of a surprise, the Ducks just traded for him last year and I thought he was a lock to make the team. 

 

Nic Petan was a mild shocker, I thought he had the Leafs made. If not he then certainly Agostino but he was cut as well.

 

 Sam Gagner was good with Edmonton last year in his second stinit and was a mild surprise on the list.

 

 Josh ho Sang finally has been passed over on the Island by kids like Bellows and others as far as being a prospect, tons of talent but a questionable work ethic. Not sure if anyone jumps on him or if he returns to Bridgeport.

[JR Ewing]

4 hours ago, yave1964 said:

@TropicalFruitGirl26

 

 Sam Gagner was good with Edmonton last year in his second stinit and was a mild surprise on the list.

 

It's the never-ending gift of Peter Chiarelli. THIS level of assett management is the creme de la creme of the sh|t de la sh|t. He's like the opposite of the guy that was able to turn a paperclip into a house in a series of trades.

 

Jordan Eberle became Ryan Strome who was turned into Ryan Spooner who was moved for Sam Gagner who has now been waived. I doubt he'll be claimed, and he could well find himself playing for Edmonton sooner than later. Tippett mentioned something about wanting to not expose Patrick Russell to waivers, so I'm guessing they think that Gagner is a safe guy to do it with.

 

Feast your eyes on these lines:

 

Jurco/McDavid/Neal

Nygaard/Draisaitl/Kassian

Granlund/Nugent-Hopkins/Chiasson

Khaira/Sheahan/Archibald

 

I'm 46 years old, and my hair has been white for about 10 years now. I think we all know why.

 

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

 

Quote

 Josh ho Sang finally has been passed over on the Island by kids like Bellows and others as far as being a prospect, tons of talent but a questionable work ethic. Not sure if anyone jumps on him or if he returns to Bridgeport.

 

No thanks. He's 23-years old and has never exactly lit up the AHL or ever found a way to gain traction on a team that's been waiting for him for years now. He's entering the late stages of prospect status and is perilously close to tweener status.

 

Pass.

 

Edited October 1, 2019 by JR Ewing

[Podein25]

1 hour ago, JR Ewing said:

Jurco/McDavid/Neal

Nygaard/Draisaitl/Kassian

Granlund/Nugent-Hopkins/Chiasson

Khaira/Sheahan/Archibald

 

Blech

[JR Ewing]

12 minutes ago, Podein25 said:

 

Blech

 

Tell me about it. Centre-depth? Awesome.

Wings? I'd say that only Jujhar Khaira is where he belongs. Everybody else is at least a slot or two above where they would be on any team half-assed properly assembled.

 

Management like this is what you get when a fetus doesn't receive enough oxygen.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

From TSN
https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/transactions

 

Transactions by teams over the last couple days....many of them of the aforementioned waiver variety.

I am guessing many teams waive players at the start of the season knowing full well they should clear and then the player gets assigned to the minors.
Common practice?
I guess I just never really paid attention to that before.

Guys I mentioned in before...like Baertschi and Sprong...all cleared and got sent down.

I have to wonder though....what if a team DID decide to make a claim...would that fall under those unwritten "no no's" that GMs have to abide by? You know...like offer sheets?
Curious indeed...

Edited October 3, 2019 by TropicalFruitGirl26

[Podein25]

4 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

I am guessing many teams waive players at the start of the season knowing full well they should clear and then the player gets assigned to the minors.
Common practice?
I guess I just never really paid attention to that before.

 

Yes, common. Issue often is whether the players I waiver exempt or not. If not waiver exempt, they can be claimed by other teams.

 

5 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

I have to wonder though....what if a team DID decide to make a claim...would that fall under those unwritten "no no's" that GMs have to abide by? You know...like offer sheets?

 

No, not at all. If a player that is not waiver exempt passes through waivers it usually means other GMs either don't like  something about their game (i.e. they suck), or don't like their price tag (cap space). 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Thanks @Podein25
It also did occur to me after I posted.....usually, this time of year, after training camp cuts, pre-season, and the actual season underway, most teams have a full shelf of contracts anyways (most are around the 48-50 contract range) and probably wouldn't have the room to add another unless they were REALLY sure about the player they were claiming.