Canadian team could lose three 1st rounders on waivers

NHL insiders are predicting a busy day on the NHL waiver wire today, after some pretty bold moves from the Ottawa Senators last night.

Late last night the Sens announced the final cuts to their roster, shipping defensemen Jacob Bernard Docker and Jacob Larsson and forwards Egor Sokolov and Matthew Highmore to the AHL's Belleville Senators. The player must, of course, pass through waivers unclaimed before they can be assigned to the AHL.

For those keeping track, that's two former 1st round picks (Bernand Docker, 26th overall in 2018), (Larsson, 27th overall in 2015) and a former 2nd round pick (Egor Sokolov, 61st overall in 2020) on waivers just days after the team lost 2019 1st round pick Lassi Thomson on waivers to the Anaheim Ducks.

And there's reason to believe that these players may be joined on the waiver wire by more high end talent. Don't be surprised if at least a couple more former 1st rounders end up on the waiver wire later today.

As for the Sens, I've praised GM Pierre Dorion for some of his moves this offseason, but potentially wasting three protectable assets in Bernard Docker, Larsson and Sokolov is terrible asset management from the veteran GM. In particular, I think that a claim will be made on Bernard Docker and Sokolov, both two players who have shown flashes at at NHL level. 

I understand that the Senators are quickly moving into 'win now' territory and that they can no longer wait for their young players to fully develop, but they really risk losing depth in their lineup with hasty roster decisions like this. Is a veteran like Travis Hamonic really pushing the needle that much that you need to push out a top prospect like Bernard Docker? Of the two, I think Bernard Docker is the most likely to be claimed as you just don't see young, right-shooting defensemen with 1st round pedigree come up on the waiver wire that often.

In 41 games with the AHL's Senators last season, he put up two goals and six assists. But, point production isn't Bernard Docker's calling card. He's a prototypical shutdown defenseman capable of shadowing his opponents' best players.

As for Sokolov, he had an impressive offensive season with the AHL Sens last season, putting up 21 goals and 59 points in 7o games. Not bad, not bad at all.

Stay tuned. Both players will hit the waiver wire today and teams will have 24 hours to put a claim in.