With the roster deadline set for 5pm EST today, NHL teams are working to determine who stays and who goes. Across the league, there were a variety of names sent down that turned the heads of hockey fans. The Detroit Red Wings caught the attention of their fans, too.
The Boston Bruins waived Nick Foligno, along with two others, sending the former Columbus Blue Jackets captain and his $3.8M contract to the waiver wire. Boston Hockey Now’s Jimmy Murphy writes it’ll save the Bruins $1.2M.
Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins sent Ty Smith and Mark Friedman to the AHL. The Florida Panthers put Lucas Carlsson and Aleksi Heponiemi through waivers. The San Jose Sharks sent William Eklund, Thomas Bordeleau, and Nick Cicek back to the AHL San Jose Barracuda. Aaron Dell and Jeffrey Veil were placed on waivers.
The Washington Capitals saw Lucas Johansen clear waivers and then sent him to their AHL affiliate the Hershey Bears.
Of course, the big news in Detroit was Givani Smith being waived while Simon Edvinsson and Jonatan Berggren were assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins. Both Edvinsson and Berggren were fan hopefuls to make the team. Although Smith made the roster last season, there was just too much competition and too few spots. If Smith does clear waivers, the Red Wings could opt to keep him on the roster for the time being, knowing that they’d have a 30-day window to send him to AHL Grand Rapids before he’d need to clear waivers again.
The Red Wings are still at 32 players and along with the rest of the league, will need to get down to 23 by 5pm ET.
Red Wings In Case You Missed It
- The Red Wings send Simon Edvinsson, Jonatan Berggren and 13 others back to Grand Rapids
- The Toronto Maple Leafs whipped the Red Wings 5-1 in the preseason finale
- Will Jakub Vrana and Anthony Mantha ever play against each other? (DHN+)
National Hockey Network
Colorado: Nathan MacKinnon returns to practice. Colorado Avalanche
Montreal: Lane Hutson talks fans and contracts. Montreal Canadiens
New York: Mat Barzal will be trying to get to the net more often this season. New York Islanders
Philadelphia: Sean Couturier is getting closer to suiting up. Philadelphia Flyers
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