25 players land on waivers Friday, including David Backes and Nic Petan

It is quite the busy day today on waivers in the National Hockey League. In total, 25 players have been placed on the wire on Friday. 

The most notable names are David Backes and Nic Petan. Both were placed on waivers by the Anaheim Ducks and the Toronto Maple Leafs respectively. 

According to Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic, Backes placed on waivers by the Ducks today is Anaheim doing some salary cap stick-handling. Not about wanting to lose the player. The Ducks have placed a total of nine players on the wire Friday. 

The Colorado Avalanche have eight players on waivers today; the Carolina Hurricanes have seven. 

The other player is Petan, who’s placed on waivers by the Maple Leafs. We can’t say why Toronto has decided to place the 25-year-old forward on waivers since the game on Saturday should require all hands on deck to make two teams. Maybe the Maple Leafs are genuinely giving him a chance to get claimed by a team that will play him.

We’ll know tomorrow at noon what his fate is, and the one of all the others players placed on the wire today.