Radim Simek, Jansen Harkins, and Zack MacEwen placed on waivers
The San Jose Sharks have placed defenseman Radim Simek on waivers. Additionally, the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins have placed Zack MacEwen and Jansen Harkins on waivers, respectively. The waiver wire has been pretty quiet so far this season but now there’s options ripe for the taking.
Simek has been a member of the Sharks organisation since the 2017-18 season after he was signed out of Czech Extraliga. As a European signing, he played his entire first North American season with the San Jose Barracuda, scoring 27 points in 67 games there. He quickly became a mainstay on the Sharks’ back end for the next five seasons, ultimately playing 209 games for them.
Simek is in the final year of the four-year, $9 million contract he signed with the Sharks. At this point in his career, he’s generally regarded as a bottom-pairing guy at best and with a $2.25 million cap hit, it’s unlikely anyone around the league will pick him up. The Sharks hope a stint in the AHL will do him good and that he’ll be back in the NHL soon enough.
Harkins was picked up on waivers just over two weeks ago by the Penguins when the Winnipeg Jets tried sending him down. He’s one of those players that undeniably has skill but can’t quite put it together at the NHL level. He scored 25 goals and 50 points in 44 games last year with the Manitoba Moose. The 26-year-old appeared in four games this season with the Penguins and hasn’t scored any points yet. It’s possible the Jets will simply reclaim him on the waiver wire.
MacEwen was a somewhat surprising free agent signing by the Senators. Sure, he’s exactly the type of player they were looking for. A tough fighter who can play decent hockey on the fourth line, basically someone to replace outgoing veteran Austin Watson. The surprising part was that they gave him a three-year deal at league minimum. MacEwen is at best a fourth-liner but it was interesting to see him take the safe route on his contract, as opposed to signing a one-year deal and hoping for a raise next season.
He played two games for the Senators this year and scored an assist and a +1 rating. When Josh Norris was activated off the injured reserve, MacEwen found himself as the odd one out. If he clears waivers, he’ll be sent down to play for the Belleville Senators in the AHL.