5 players who could be claimed on waivers before Monday.
A large number of notable players were placed on waivers today, here are 5 that could end up on a new team.
Sunday was the final day of preseason waivers in the National Hockey League with every team's roster needing to be officially locked in by 5 pm EST on Monday. As a result a number of notable players have been sent to the waiver wire as teams look to get under the NHL's salary cap, notable players that could very well end up on a new team within the next 24 hours.
Although it is hard to predict which teams will submit a claim for which player with the rosters fluctuating so much at this time of year, here are 5 players I believe could be among those claimed before Monday:
#1 Martin Jones - Toronto Maple Leafs.
There seems to be a general consensus around the NHL that the Tampa Bay Lightning will look to add a goaltender through waivers as they are currently dealing with some injuries between the pipes. Jones is not only an experienced goaltender at the NHL level having appeared in 444 regular season games through his career, but he also comes at a very manageable cap hit of just $875,000 and would likely be the frontrunner to fill that gap for the Lightning.
#2 Grigori Denisenko - Vegas Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights claimed Grigori Denisenko earlier this week and have promptly put him right back on waivers in the hopes of sending him down to the American Hockey League and clearing some roster space. This however does leave the door open for the Florida Panthers, who initially placed Denisenko on waivers only to see him claimed by the Golden Knights, to get their player back.
#3 Zachary Aston-Reese - Detroit Red Wings.
The Carolina Hurricanes released Aston-Reese from his professional tryout offer earlier this week but it wasn't very long at all before he secured himself a new deal with the Red Wings. In fact the Red Wings announced the signing of Aston-Reese just hours before placing him on waivers, and any other team in the NHL that sees value in the depth forward could look to add him to their roster on a league minimum contract that has the added benefit of being a two-way deal.
#4 Lassi Thomson - Anaheim Ducks.
The Ottawa Senators surprised many earlier this week when they announced that they were waiving former first round pick Lassi Thomson. Thomson was quickly scooped up by the Anaheim Ducks but now that the Ducks have been forced to trim down their own roster, Thomson once again finds himself on waivers.
Not only could the Senators themselves look to recoup their former first round pick, but any other team in the NHL interested in the reclamation project that is the former 19th overall pick at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft could also look to submit a claim.
#5 Zach Bogosian - Tampa Bay Lightning.
The veteran defenseman was one of the notable players sent to waivers on Sunday and teams looking for an experienced defenseman with a championship pedigree could very well target Bogosian on waivers. Although the former 3rd overall pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft has seen limited deployment over the last several seasons he remains a solid depth option on the blue line and comes with a relatively cheap cat hit of $850,000 in the final year of his current contract.
One downside for Bogosian is that he will earn $1.05 million in real money this season, a consideration that could prove to be an important factor for more financially frugal teams.
