Feb. 12: Toninato has cleared waivers and will be assigned to Manitoba today, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press reports.
Feb. 11: The Jets placed center Dominic Toninato on waivers Sunday and intend to assign him to AHL Manitoba if he clears, per TSN’s and The Athletic’s Chris Johnston.
Winnipeg needed to open a roster spot with forward David Gustafsson now ready to come off injured reserve. Toninato, who’s been a healthy scratch in three straight, is the odd man out and finds himself on waivers for the third time this season.
The 29-year-old Minnesotan has been a serviceable fourth-line center when called upon for the Jets, appearing in 99 games over the past four seasons since signing as a free agent before the 2020-21 season. He’s played in 15 games this season, the most since he played in a career-high 77 contests in 2021-22, and has a goal and four assists while averaging 10:11 per game. His possession metrics are quite respectable, too, with a 53.4% Corsi share at even strength and an expected +1.3 rating.
Having already cleared waivers twice in the past few months, the risk of Toninato being claimed this time around still seems low despite his solid showing this year. He’s not a pending free agent – he’s signed to an affordable two-year, two-way deal with a $775K cap hit through the 2024-25 season, but that second year certainly dissuades some teams from putting in a claim.
Toninato has two goals and six points in nine games on the farm with Manitoba this season. In 50 games with the Moose in 2022-23, he posted a career-high 19 goals and 35 points.