Waiver Move
Mike Kostka has been waived by the Rangers.
If Kostka clears waivers, he would report to the Hartford Wolf Pack.
NHL Hockey Player News
Waiver Move
Rene Bourque has cleared waivers and will be assigned to Hamilton (AHL).
Bourque has just two assists with a minus-9 rating in 13 games this season. He served as a healthy scratch in the Canadiens last two games, before being placed on waivers on Sunday. He carries a $3.33M cap hit (per nhlnumbers.com), which likely played a huge factor in why he was not claimed by another team.
Waiver Move
Ryan Malone has cleared waivers, but still might play on Monday.
Malone was placed on waivers on Sunday with the intention of sending him to the AHL. Now that he has cleared, he can be sent down at any time, but with Mats Zuccarello listed as a game-time decision, there is a good chance Malone will stay with the team for tonight's game.
Waiver Move
The Blackhawks have placed Kyle Cuminsky on waivers so they can send him to Rockford (AHL).
Cuminsky, 27, had a strong training camp and stuck with the Blackhawks, but could not crack the lineup in the early going. He will head to the AHL for the first time since 2011-12, he spent the last two years in Sweden.
The Maple Leafs have claimed Richard Panik off of waivers from Tampa Bay.
Panik, 23, was the Lightning's second round pick (53rd overall) in 2009. He has a lot of skill and upside, but could't find his way in Tampa, posting just eight goals and 14 assists (22 points) in 75 career games. A year ago I don't think the Maple Leafs make this claim, but with a new direction and focus on scoring goals and puck possession, Panik seems to fit their future plans.
Waiver Move
The Blue Jackets claimed Adam Cracknell off of waivers from the Kings.
Cracknell, 29, played 19 games with the Blues last season. He recorded two assists, zero PIMs and an even plus/minus rating. Claiming the 6-foot-1, 216 lbs. forward forced the Blue Jackets to put Brandon Dubinsky (lower-body) on injured reserve. Cracknell will now compete for playing time with a number of young Jackets' players.
Waiver Move
Budaj cleared waivers and has been sent to St. John's (AHL).
After being acquired from the Canadiens, the Jets placed Budaj on waivers, now that he has cleared he will be the starter in St. John's. He is an excellent insurance policy for Ondrej Pavelec and Michael Hutchinson.
Waiver Move
The Jets have placed Peter Budaj on waivers.
The Jets traded Eric Tangradi to the Canadiens for Budaj and minor-leaguer Patrick Holland on Sunday, but the Jets must be content with the duo of Ondrej Pavelec and Michael Hutchinson to start the season. Winnipeg is hoping that Budaj will clear waivers so he can stay in their system. The 32-year-old netminder was 10-8-3 with a 2.51 GAA and .909 SV% as Carey Price's backup last season. He had fallen behind Dustin Tokarski on the Habs' depth chart, thus making him expendable.
Waiver Move
The Blues have placed Nate Prosser on waivers.
After spending the first five seasons of his NHL career with Minnesota, Prosser, 28, signed with the Blues this offseason, but will start the season in the AHL if he clears waivers.
Waiver Move
The Blues have placed Peter Mueller on waivers.
Mueller, 26, was attempting to make an NHL comeback after spending last season in Switzerland. Mueller clearly did not have a good enough training camp to stick on a deep Blues roster, but he may be claimed by another NHL team.
Waiver Move
The Canucks have placed Jacob Markstrom on waivers.
Markstrom, 24, was acquired in the trade that sent Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers last March. He was 2-8-3 with a 3.39 GAA and .873 SV% between the Panthers and Canucks last season. Markstrom was once considered the NHL's top goaltending prospect and will likely be claimed by another team. He has just one year with a $1.2 million cap-hit left on his contract, making him a relatively low-risk add.
Waiver Move
The Islanders have placed Kirill Kabanov on unconditional waivers.
Kabanov, 22, was drafted in the third round (65th overall) in the 2010 NHL Draft. Kabanov played 25 games between the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) and Stockton Thunder (ECHL). The Russian forward never lived up to the expectations he set with a 55 point season in 50 games in his final year in the QMJHL.
Waiver Move
The Bruins have claimed Corey Potter off of waivers from Edmonton.
The injuries on the blueline to Dennis Seidenberg and Adam McQuaid had the Bruins rather thin on the back-end, the claim of Potter provides a little extra blueline depth. Potter is 6-foot-3, 206 lbs. and plays a big physical game in his own end, but can also provide offence from time-to-time.
Waiver Move
The Sabres have claimed Cory Conacher off of waivers from Ottawa.
Conacher along with a fourth-round pick was sent to the Senators for Ben Bishop last season. Bishop has been amazing this season, while Conacher has struggled severely and now finds himself in Buffalo. The 24-year-old spent four years at nearby Canisius College, so this is a bit of a homecoming for Conacher. He recorded four goals and 16 assists (20 points) in 60 games with Ottawa this season.
Waiver Move
Dubnyk has cleared waivers and is expected to get sent to Milwaukee (AHL).
It is a bit surprising that a couple of teams in need of goaltending depth did not claim Dubnyk. He will likely go to Milwaukee with Pekka Rinne and Carter Hutton as the Preds' goaltending tandem.
Waiver Move
The Predators have placed Dubynk on waivers.
WIth Pekka Rinne back with the Preds and the emergence of Carter Hutton, Dubnyk has been placed on waivers in an attempt to send him to Milwaukee (AHL). However, with he could be claimed by the Oilers and return as their backup as they try to trade Ilya Bryzgalov before the deadline. He could also be claimed by the Sabres so that they don't need to acquire a backup as they try to trade Jaroslav Halak.
Waiver Move
The Lightning claimed D Mike Kostka off waivers from Chicago on Sunday.
Kostka will join the team this week. The 28-year-old has appeared in 44 career NHL games between Toronto and Chicago, scoring two goals and 11 points. He made his NHL debut last season with the Maple Leafs after spending his first four seasons in the AHL. Kostka will be reunited with coach Jon Cooper, who coached Kostka in Norfolk in 2011-12, when the Admirals captured the Calder Cup championship.
Waiver Move
The Coyotes have placed Rostislav Klesla on waivers (again).
Klesla cleared waivers the first time and will likely clear again and be sent to the AHL. He has just four points (1G / 3A) in 25 games with the Coyotes.
Waiver Move
The Devils have claimed Alexander Urbom off waivers from Washington.
Urbom, a Devils draft pick, started the year with New Jersey before Washington claimed him off waivers. Things have come full-circle and Urbom is back with New Jersey after dressing in 20 games with the Caps (recorded 1G / 1A). In 14 career games with the Devils he has two goals.
Waiver Move
The Sabres have claimed center Zenon Konopka off waivers from the Minnesota Wild.
Konopka, 33, is a rare mix of grit and skill, fighting regularly and annually ranking among the NHL’s faceoff leaders. Konopka is 6-feet and 213 pounds, he has 12 goals, 29 points, 1,049 penalty minutes and a minus-45 rating in 323 NHL games. He has one goal, two points and 55 penalty minutes in 36 games this season.
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.