Oct 19: Both Maksimov and Timashov have cleared waivers and will see their contracts terminated.
Oct 18: While Alex Belzile and Leo Komarov hit regular waivers today, two other players are on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract terminations. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Kirill Maksimov of the Edmonton Oilers and Dmytro Timashov of the New York Islanders will become unrestricted free agents should the termination process go through tomorrow.
Maksimov, 22, is in the final year of his entry-level contract, originally signed in 2018 after the Oilers selected him in the fifth round the year prior. The young forward seems destined to return to the KHL, where he spent last season. In 16 games with CSKA Moscow in 2020-21, Maksimov scored just three points. That’s not all that much different than his production in the minors though, as he had just 13 points in 53 games for the Bakersfield Condors in 2019-20 and hadn’t yet suited up this year.
Timashov on the other hand has 45 games at the NHL level under his belt and has been a strong performer in the AHL as well. He signed a new one-year, two-way contract with the Islanders in September, but apparently is going to split ways with the organization just a month later. The KHL is certainly an option for him too, but there have been interested NHL clubs in the past.
One thing to note for the Islanders is that they were previously operating with 49 of their 50 allotted contract slots filled. Terminating Timashov’s deal will open up another, allowing them to make moves in-season to either bolster their current NHL group or add prospects like college free agents. They can’t just cut him, but if Timashov had other offers this termination would make sense for both sides.