With the trade deadline just a day away, several teams are making some last minute roster maneuvers, as eight players have found themselves on the waiver wire on Thursday.
Another busy day on NHL waivers.
The waiver wire for Thursday is as follows:
Evgenii Dadonov, F, New Jersey Devils
Luke Glendening, F, New Jersey Devils
Maxim Tsyplakov, F, New Jersey Devils
Garrett Wilson, F, Philadelphia Flyers (contract signing)
Mathieu Joseph, F, St. Louis Blues (unconditional waivers)
Curtis Douglas, F, Tampa Bay Lightning
Alexander Holtz, F, Vegas Golden Knights
Cole Reinhardt, F, Vegas Golden Knights
These players are now available to be claimed by 30 other teams over the course of the next 24 hours. The only team unable to claim them are the Golden Knights, as they have reached the maximum of 50 standard player contracts, and would need to move a player to do so.
With the NHL season past the month of October, the waiver priority order is determined by the inverse order of the standings, which means the Vancouver Canucks currently have first say on claiming any player, while the Colorado Avalanche are last in that order.
Joseph finds himself on the waiver wire for the second time in a week. Last time, it was on conditional waivers to be reassigned to the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, and with the Blues shopping Joseph at the deadline, there was likely hope that either a team would claim him or be more interested in him if he cleared waivers.
But with Joseph now on unconditional waivers, it’s clear there isn’t a market for him, and the Blues and Joseph are agreeing to terminate the contract so the 29 year old can find another team to play with. He was in the final year of a four-year contract with a $2.95 cap hit.
While Joseph has missed five games this season due to a lower-body injury and an elbow infection, Joseph has only played 39 games with the Blues this season, largely falling out of favor in the lineup. He has two goals and nine assists for 11 points in those 39 games.
This isn’t the first time the Blues have terminated a player’s contract to give them a better opportunity elsewhere. Last season saw them terminate Brandon Saad’s contract, who then signed with the Golden Knights, and St. Louis did the same this season with Alexandre Texier, who then signed with the Montreal Canadiens.
The other player of note on waivers is Wilson, as he finds himself on the wire due to signing a contract with the Flyers. At this point in time, the details of the contract are not known.
Wilson had been playing with the Flyers AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, on an AHL contract, but earned himself an NHL deal, his first since the 2018-19 season. Wilson has four goals and 12 assists for 16 points in 51 games played.
