Welcome back, Nathan. The New Jersey Devils have claimed Nathan Bastian off waivers from the Seattle Kraken, bringing back the player they lost in the expansion draft.
Bastian, 23, never seemed like a player that would make it through waivers, given the mix of size, draft pedigree and relative youth that he brings. A second-round pick in 2016, he played 41 games for the Devils last season, scoring ten points and forming a nice line with longtime teammate Michael McLeod.
While he failed to provide much offense with the Kraken, scoring just one goal and two points in 12 games, Bastian does actually have some upside on that side of the puck. The 6’4″ forward has scored 44 goals in 188 AHL games and even his seven in 60 NHL games show a player who can chip in once in a while.
He’ll now avoid a return to the minor leagues, as the Devils will have to keep him on the active roster. To make room, Jesper Boqvist has been moved to injured reserve retroactive to November 18.
For Seattle, this appears to be another case of wasting an expansion pick. There wasn’t a ton of talent available on the Devils roster, but it seems likely that someone like Andreas Johnsson would have been more valuable, even despite his contract. Now they’ve lost Bastian for nothing (save the small fee a team must pay to claim a player), after just 12 games.
Hopefully they put him on the line with McLeod and Vesey and they can find the spark they did last year, we definitely needed bottom 6 help Geertsen and Gauthier werent doing it for us this year
If you put Geertsen on waivers,the Rangers will pick him back up
HA! Take him
The Kraken’s expansion draft “strategy” continues to confound…
“Calling the shots from their throne” yet again.
The “cap space is king” mindset (as opposed to “good players are king”) is the dumbest thing to infiltrate hockey since the glowing puck.
Time will tell.