Monday: Hunt has cleared waivers and was assigned to the minor leagues immediately. Haley has also cleared.
Sunday: Two more names have hit the waiver wire as Elliotte Friedman announces that the New York Rangers have put enforcer Micheal Haley on waivers, while the Florida Panthers have done the same with winger Dryden Hunt.
Haley’s time was coming in New York. His playing time was decreasing by the game as the 33-year-old “tough guy” was only averaging 5:49 on the ice. Haley may have worn out his welcome on the team’s two-game trip to Florida where he racked up 24 penalty minutes against Tampa Bay in 4:09 of ice time on Thursday and then immediately picked up two more after 1:26 on the ice against Florida on Friday after which he was benched for the rest of the game. To make matters worse for the Rangers, they found themselves on the penalty kill 10 times between the two games, allowing seven power play goals. With a penalty kill ranked 29th with a 73.2 percent success rate, Haley, and his ability to accrue penalties, might seem expendable.
Hunt, on the other hand, has not been productive on an offensive standpoint. The 23-year-old has no goals and just four assists over 20 games and has just one assist over his last 11 appearances. His playing time seems to have dwindled as well over the last few games, playing a season-low 7:50 against the Rangers on Saturday. While he’s been known as a hard-worker, Hunt just hasn’t been able to justify his place with the Panthers due to his lack of production. Hunt did produces at the AHL level last year, scoring 23 goals and 44 points in 51 games, while scoring three goals in 31 games with Florida last season.