As is the custom at this point of the preseason, the waiver wire is a busy place today. TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reports (Twitter links) that the following players have been placed on waivers:
D Chris Bigras (NY Rangers)
F Joseph Blandisi (Anaheim)
F Dennis Everberg (Winnipeg)
F Brendan Gaunce (Vancouver)
F Seth Griffith (Winnipeg)
F Peter Holland (NY Rangers)
F J.C. Lipon (Winnipeg)
F Nicolas Kerdiles (Winnipeg)
G Marek Mazanec (NY Rangers)
D Julian Melchiori (Florida)
G Zane McIntyre (Boston)
G Al Montoya (Edmonton)
D Cameron Schilling (Winnipeg)
F Cole Schneider (NY Rangers)
F Ben Street (Anaheim)
G Dustin Tokarski (NY Rangers)
Montoya was acquired from Montreal last season in an effort to solidify their backup position. However, he became expendable when the team inked Mikko Koskinen to a $2.5MM contract in the offseason. He carries a $1.0625MM cap hit although the team will be able to write off $1.025MM of that if he clears waivers and is assigned to Bakersfield of the AHL. The placements of Mazanec and Tokarski means that youngster Alexandar Georgiev is set to break camp as the backup for the Rangers. The two veterans will contend for the number one job with AHL Hartford and are safe bets to clear having spent the bulk of the last few years in the AHL. McIntyre is coming off of a strong season with AHL Providence and should serve as Boston’s third-stringer if he passes through unclaimed.
On the back end, Bigras was once a prominent prospect in Colorado’s system but has stagnated in recent years. He was dealt to the Rangers just before the trade deadline last season but stayed in the minors the rest of the way. Melchiori battled injury issues last season and was only able to get into 49 games with Manitoba of the AHL. He has 30 games of NHL experience over parts of three seasons but isn’t likely to be claimed. Schilling is coming off of his best year in the minors that saw him post 32 points in 71 games with Manitoba but he hasn’t seen NHL action since playing in four games with Washington in 2014-15.
Up front, there are some familiar names. Blandisi was part of the Adam Henrique-Sami Vatanen trade last season and was productive in the minors, collecting 29 games in 46 games between Binghamton and San Diego. The 24-year-old has also had some NHL success, posting 26 points in 71 games and could very well be a candidate to be claimed. Gaunce was a first-round pick (26th overall) of the Canucks back in 2012 and has held down a depth role over the last couple of seasons. Teams looking for a younger center to work with may be inclined to take a look at him. Griffith has proven to be a productive player at the AHL level but hasn’t been able to translate that to much NHL success. Everberg spent last season in the KHL but has 70 games of NHL experience under his belt in Colorado. Holland, Lipon, Kerdiles, Schneider, and Street are all AHL veterans and have cleared waivers before which makes it likely that they will pass through again this time around.