Saturday: Tennyson has cleared waivers, Johnston reports. New Jersey quickly moved him to the taxi squad, while assigning Nicholas Merkley to the AHL.
Friday: Off the COVID Protocol and onto the wire, Matt Tennyson has been placed on waivers by the New Jersey Devils according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. The team also put Eric Comrie and Connor Carrick there in recent days, losing the former back to his old team. Tennyson already did clear earlier in the season, but needed to go through the process again if the Devils wanted to assign him to the taxi squad or minor leagues.
With Sami Vatanen, Dmitry Kulikov, and Will Butcher all assuming their spots on the active roster, it was always going to be a tough squeeze for Tennyson. The 30-year-old served as a filler through ten games this season but was regularly caved in possession-wise, just as he has been for most of his career. Undrafted, Tennyson used his three years at Western Michigan University to build up his profile before hitting the professional ranks. He’s turned in quite a nice little career, spending 154 games in an NHL lineup.
Still, it seems unlikely that he will be claimed (if for no other reason than waiver claims are extremely rare these days.) More likely is he clears tomorrow and returns to the practice squad, where he can continue to serve as injury insurance for the Devils. Even there he might not be the first up, as Carrick cleared and could be used whenever the team needs a body.
Good luck Matt