NHL Hockey Player News

Rudolfs Balcers(LW)|FA
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
The Sharks have claimed Rudolfs Balcers off of waivers from the Senators.

Balcers was originally a fifth-round pick of the Sharks but was traded to the Senators as a part of the Erik Karlsson deal in 2018. He appeared in 51 career games with the Senators, scoring six goals with 11 assists (17 points), and now returns to San Jose where he could work his way into a bottom-6 role.

Source:
Elliotte Friedman 2021-01-12T19:57:14.181Z
Rudolfs Balcers
Anton Forsberg(G)|OTT
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
The Hurricanes have claimed Anton Forsberg from the Oilers.

The Hurricanes put Alex Nedeljkovic on waivers on Tuesday, so they claimed Forsberg in case they lose Nedeljkovic tomorrow. Forsberg was with the Hurricanes last year, going 1-1-0 while allowing eight goals on 78 shots (.897 SV%) in three games. He signed with the Oilers this offseason but was waived Monday.

Source:
Elliotte Friedman 2021-01-12T19:55:33.770Z
Anton Forsberg
Noah Juulsen(D)|VAN
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
The Panthers have claimed Noah Juulsen off of waivers from the Canadiens.

Juulsen was a first-round pick (No.26 overall) in 2015 but only played in 44 NHL games since. Juulsen has dealt with headache issues in recent years, last year playing just 13 games with Laval (AHL). Still, he is just 23-years-old and has a bright future as long as he can stay healthy and on the ice.

Source:
Elliotte Friedman 2021-01-11T17:06:14.530Z
Noah Juulsen
Gustav Forsling(D)|FLA
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
The Panthers have claimed Gustav Forsling off of waivers from the Hurricanes.

Forsling is familiar with new Panthers bench boss Joel Quenneville from their days together in Chicago. Forsling has had a tough time becoming a full-time player in the NHL, never playing more than 43 games in a single-season (2019). He has 27 points (8G / 19A) in 122 career NHL games and will likely continue to serve a similar, fringe roster player role in Florida.

Source:
Elliotte Friedman 2021-01-09T18:04:43.136Z
Gustav Forsling
Christian Djoos(LD)|FA
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
The Red Wings have claimed Christian Djoos off of waivers from the Ducks.

Djoos, who was originally a seventh-round pick of the Capitals in 2012, has appeared in 119 career NHL games with Washington and Anaheim. Djoos is a modern-day NHL defenseman, who is mobile and a solid puck-mover from the back-end. He has 27 points (5G / 22A) in his brief NHL career thus far and will likely be the seventh defenseman in Detroit.

Source:
Elliotte Friedman 2021-01-09T18:04:53.523Z
Christian Djoos
Dmytro Timashov(LW)|FA
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
The Red Wings have claimed Dmytro Timashov off of waivers from the Maple Leafs.

The 23-year-old Ukrainian was a fifth-round selection of the Maple Leafs in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. While he had been a frequent scratch of late, Timashov earned a full-time roster spot this season after three productive years with the Marlies (AHL). He has four goals and five assists in 39 games this season.

Source:
Elliotte Friedman 2020-02-24T17:59:25.477Z
Dmytro Timashov
Stefan Noesen(RW)|NJD
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
The Sharks have claimed Stefan Noesen off of waivers from the Penguins.

Noesen started the season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) where he had 22 points (14G / 8A) in 22 games and then signed an NHL deal with the Penguins. He appeared in just six games with Pittsburgh before being waived on Wednesday. He was claimed by the Sharks, in an attempt to boost their fourth line. He has 46 points (25G / 21A) in 165 career NHL games with the Ducks, Devils and Penguins.

Source:
Chris Johnston 2019-12-19T17:18:56.957Z
Stefan Noesen
Eric Comrie(G)|WPG
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
The Jets have claimed Eric Comrie off of waivers from the Red Wings.

The 2019-20 season has been a roller coaster for Comrie. He was in training camp with the Jets but was claimed off of waivers by the Coyotes on October 1st, then traded to Detroit on November 30th. Comrie appeared in three games with Detroit (2 starts), going 0-2-0 with a 4.28 GAA and .864 SV% and was waived on Wednesday. Now he returns to the Jets where it all started.

Source:
Chris Johnston 2019-12-19T17:16:00.552Z
Eric Comrie
Luca Sbisa(LD)|FA
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
The Jets have claimed Luca Sbisa off of waivers from Anaheim.

The Ducks were planning on signing Sbisa but he had to pass through waivers first. The Jets shut that idea down by claiming the 29-year-old defenseman. He had one assist in nine games with the Islanders last year and has 103 points (18G / 85A) in 504 career NHL games with the Flyers, Ducks, Canucks, Golden Knights and Islanders.

Source:
Elliotte Friedman 2019-10-23T16:14:52.367Z
Luca Sbisa

NHL Waiver Wire

The NHL implemented the waiver wire to uphold a “competitive balance” in the league. Before the waiver wire, clubs hoarded players and ensured their opponents couldn’t access them. Those players would get sent to the minors and basically get buried, stunting any chance for them to make a name for themselves in the big league. As you can imagine, not only was hoarding players in the minors a hindrance to other teams, but it was also a hindrance to the players themselves. Eventually, things had to change, and that’s when the NHL waiver wire came into play: no longer can a player be buried in the minors (unless nobody wants them).

Types of Waivers

Nevertheless, the NHL wavier wire can be a bit nuanced to a newcomer. Don’t worry, we break it down and do a quick deep dive into the nuts and bolts.

Regular NHL Waivers

Teams will use what NHL executives call “regular waivers” to move players to the minors. Players on entry-level contracts are usually waiver wire exempt, which means teams can send them up and down as they please without risking them being claimed by another team. Players who aren’t waiver wire exempt will usually make the headlines since they can be placed on waivers. Most players playing in the minors are waiver wire exempt. That’s why they get sent up and down so freely throughout the course of a season. Obviously, it’s on a case-by-case basis.

Return Waivers

“Re-entry waivers” used to exist before the NHL and the NHLPA eliminated the clause in the 2012 collective bargaining agreement. The clause was originally put in place because some teams would bury players in the minors, hoping they would pick up their game a bit and call them back up. If such a great thing happened, the team could call them back up without penalty. Too many teams learned to hoard players, so to encourage fairness and do right by the players, the return or “re-entry waivers process” was implemented. When ironing out a new CBA, both sides wanted to tinker with the waiver wire process. A part of that tinkering was getting rid of “re-entry waivers.”

Unconditional Waivers

When a team puts a player on unconditional waivers, it’s usually because the team wants to terminate their contract or buy them out. A contract termination can come about because a player breached their contract. In other words, as a disciplinary action. The more common form is a buyout. The player didn’t breach their contract; it’s just the management most likely determined the player sucks and wants to get rid of as much of the player’s cap hit as humanly possible.

A Quick Word On One and Two-Way Contracts

There’s a common misconception that NHL fans make when referring to one and two-way contracts. What some fans think is if a player is on a one-way deal, they can’t be sent to the minors without going through waivers. Players who are signed to two-way deals can be sent back and forth to the minors freely. Without getting too far into the nuts and bolts, that’s not always the case. You can blame EA Sports’ “Be A GM” mode for that belief.

Generally, a one-way deal ensures that players’ salaries remain the same whether they’re in the minors or the NHL. For example, if a goalie makes $3.55 million in the NHL and gets sent down to the AHL because he couldn’t stop a beach ball, he’ll still make the full $3.55 million in the minors. A player who’s on a two-way contract makes a higher salary in the NHL and a lower one in the AHL. One and two-way deals don’t solely determine waiver wire eligibility.

Time Restrictions Around NHL Waivers

The waiver wire goes into effect 12 days before the start of the regular season and lasts until the day after a team’s regular season is over. Any moves after that are more or less off the books unless certain conditions are met. Then, things get tricky.

When a player gets put on the waiver wire, there’s a 24-hour period where other NHL teams can determine if they want to take a shot on the player and their contract. If a team wants to take a leap of faith and claim the forsaken player, they must wait and see which other teams make a claim. If the worst team in the league (based on the current standings and future projections) makes a claim and the best team also bites on the waived player, the worst team will get the player in the name of “fairness.”

It’s not very often that many teams make a claim on a single player because most teams use the waiver wire to clear cap space. That said, it does happen once or twice a season when a good team is forced to make a tough decision on a decent player.

Strategy Behind NHL Waivers

There are many reasons why NHL transactions will revolve around waiver wire moves. Below, we compiled those reasons and sought to explain the strategy behind each.

Salary Cap

As we alluded to earlier, most players are put on waivers because they’re not living up to their contracts. The front office of the team they play for wants to bury the contract in the minors to open up room for someone who’s worth the money. It’s a harsh truth, but the NHL is a business, and everyone is always looking for a good return on investment. If a player sucks, sometimes that’s what needs to happen, no matter how difficult it might be to pull off.

Contract Termination

For players who are on longer deals, burying them in the minors for the duration of their contract might not be worthwhile. It might just be easier to buy them out or even terminate their contract. Most of the time, when a player gets bought out, the team buying out the player must still pay a cap penalty. That said, it’s usually preferable for NHL executives rather than eating the cap hit and being unable to bolster their team via trades and free agency.

Bad contracts in the NHL are a dime a dozen, so front offices use things like unconditional waivers to move on from their mistakes. Of course, they still take a fat L, but in the same sense, they’ll get some flexibility and a chance to move on. So too does the player.

Moves to the Minor League

At the end of the day, all an NHL general manager really wants to do is send a player to the minors because they’re underperforming. It just so happens the player isn’t waiver wire exempt, and that’s the way she goes. Mind you, in those situations, many people in the front office will know that these players are less likely to get claimed because their value is limited to other teams. In that sense, NHL front offices will feel more comfortable making those moves.

Let’s be honest, even if these players get claimed, odds are they’ll be back on the waiver wire at some point during the season, in which they can be reclaimed. If not, as crappy as this may sound, the player is replaceable.