Waived: 2019-20 Ongoing Waivers Thread

[sabremike]

The guy that had 8 goals and 43 points in the AHL as a 22/23 year old. Let's not confuse draft pedigree and "perceived skill" with on ice production. Maybe, just maybe, the people in hockey know more about the behind the scenes stuff than HF posters?

Maybe a change of scenery is what he needs, but there are reasons why guys like him go unclaimed.

Look at his advanced metrics from his NHL games. He has his flaws but they show he is not a bad player. And given that "People in hockey" this time last year thought Sobotka, Berglund, Tage and a first was great value for "Third line center (TM Bob MacKenzie)" ROR lets just say I'm a little skeptical about the talent evaluation acumen of "people in hockey" these days.

 

[vanarchy]

Contract slots are a commodity. Some of these players will still be on the move but not without something going the other way.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Look at his advanced metrics from his NHL games. He has his flaws but they show he is not a bad player. And given that "People in hockey" this time last year thought Sobotka, Berglund, Tage and a first was great value for "Third line center (TM Bob MacKenzie)" ROR lets just say I'm a little skeptical about the talent evaluation acumen of "people in hockey" these days.

Let's wait and see what happens now. Teams many times don't want to take on another contract or cap (even small cap) without sending something the other way. He still may be moved to one of these teams.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Little surprised no one wanted to give Sprong a claim. Guy can really shoot. Plenty of AHL teams need goal scoring. Plenty of NHL teams need goal scoring for that matter.

 

[elitepete]

Is there any other sport that annually sees numerous trades every season that were so horrible and stupid that you would be fired the second the season ended by just about any team in any other sport? I mean how in the hell do complete clowns like Benning and Botteril keep their jobs?

Oh, and the product isn't very good nowadays either.

Because half our fanbase is dumb as shit and has enabled this pos owner to retain and even EXTEND our management group.

 

[Ciao]

I honestly think if you replaced every GM in hockey with that team's mascot the quality of executives in the league would improve by a factor of 10. There were several guys who have potential, will cost you nothing and would be zero risk/high reward moves.

Is there any other sport that annually sees numerous trades every season that were so horrible and stupid that you would be fired the second the season ended by just about any team in any other sport? I mean how in the hell do complete clowns like Benning and Botteril keep their jobs?

Oh, and the product isn't very good nowadays either.

If we had claimed JHS he would arguably be one of our top 6 forwards the minute he arrived in Buffalo. And freaking Ottawa and Edmonton?

You sound very upset, Mike, that no one claimed players you thought should be claimed off waivers.

To my mind, that doesn't drive the conclusions you've drawn that all 30 General Managers are incompetent, but only that your opinion on these players is an outlier.

For all we know, they might be right on the vast majority of their player-personnel decisions.

 

[SherVaughn30]

Curious, if Pheonix Copley were put on waivers, does a team out there try to snatch him before he clears to go to Hershey?

 

[Ciao]

Little surprised no one wanted to give Sprong a claim. Guy can really shoot. Plenty of AHL teams need goal scoring. Plenty of NHL teams need goal scoring for that matter.

Another team could not claim Sprong and assign him to the AHL without passing through waivers; and probably exposing a player on their own roster to waivers as well.

The need for AHL goal-scoring is really not much of a factor in this situation.

 

[Ciao]

I now wonder if another reason teams didn't claim Sprong is that it'd be declaring war on Bob Murray & he'll claim whatever guys they try to get thru as payback ?

I seriously doubt that.

I think teams passed because they felt a waiver claim would not benefit their own team.

 

[sabremike]

You sound very upset, Mike, that no one claimed players you thought should be claimed off waivers.

To my mind, that doesn't drive the conclusions you've drawn that all 30 General Managers are incompetent, but only that your opinion on these players is an outlier.

For all we know, they might be right on the vast majority of their player-personnel decisions.

 

[Fazkovsky]

Would be shocked if sprong clears

 

[BonMorrison]

Would be shocked if sprong clears

but ... he did clear ...

 

[Fazkovsky]

but ... he did clear ...

Thats weird even ho sang did

 

[ShelbyZ]

Curious, if Pheonix Copley were put on waivers, does a team out there try to snatch him before he clears to go to Hershey?

If DeSmith cleared, then Copley definitely clears.

Given that Copley's contract is roughly 2/3 times longer than his NHL resume, I don't think teams are going to want to risk having Copley not pan out and then face having to buy him out or pay him a $1.5M salary as an AHL goalie in 21-22.

The Caps probably structured it that way so that he wouldn't get claimed and they'd have someone to expose to Seattle when they inevitably protect Holtby or possibly another goalie better than Copley.

 

[greasysnapper]

I don't think anyone will ever get claimed BUT I feel like there is something there with Sprong. Hopefully he finds it in San Diego and gets another chance.

Some of it isn't even a knock on his skill, it's a knock on his attitude and personality (not to mention Papa Sprong's involvement).

 

[Craig Ludwig]

Some of it isn't even a knock on his skill, it's a knock on his attitude and personality (not to mention Papa Sprong's involvement).

Papa Sprong is known around the hockey circles as somewhat difficult, that never helps...

 

[CartographerNo611]

I'm surprised that other people are still surprised that most players clear waivers.

No kidding, if they are hitting waivers they are not NHL players 98% of the time.

 

[Reaper45]

Kings all but said they didnt claim anyone because they're at 48 contracts.

 

[biturbo19]

I guess Baertschi's contract scared everyone off? Nobody wants a $3.75M waiver wire player. Have to wonder if he really is just broken from all the injuries. Or at least, regressed to the butter soft perimeter player he arrived in Vancouver as. Seems like such a nice person, and he absolutely has top end skill. Made a huge amount of progress in Vancouver in actually developing the grinding aspects to utilize that skill better at the NHL level. He is in that awkward "tweener" build, where he kinda has to be in the Top-6 to really be an asset. A defensive role isn't for him. But he's a lot more useful than most of those other tweeners, in that he can be a decent 6th best forward sort of winger. Unless he really is broken now.

 

[greasysnapper]

I guess Baertschi's contract scared everyone off? Nobody wants a $3.75M waiver wire player. Have to wonder if he really is just broken from all the injuries. Or at least, regressed to the butter soft perimeter player he arrived in Vancouver as. Seems like such a nice person, and he absolutely has top end skill. Made a huge amount of progress in Vancouver in actually developing the grinding aspects to utilize that skill better at the NHL level. He is in that awkward "tweener" build, where he kinda has to be in the Top-6 to really be an asset. A defensive role isn't for him. But he's a lot more useful than most of those other tweeners, in that he can be a decent 6th best forward sort of winger. Unless he really is broken now.

$3.75 mil is a lot of money to gamble on. People forget it's a business and owners are dealing with real price tags.

 

[SotasicA]

Little surprised no one wanted to give Sprong a claim. Guy can really shoot. Plenty of AHL teams need goal scoring.

He'd have to be on an NHL roster if claimed. Can't re-assign him to AHL. Well, you can, but he'd need to clear waivers. At that point the original team would just put in a claim and re-assign him to their affiliate.

 

[biturbo19]

$3.75 mil is a lot of money to gamble on. People forget it's a business and owners are dealing with real price tags.

Fair enough. It just seems like when it comes to running an NHL team, you're talking about many figures more in "risk" and expenditure. Is Baertschi really that broken? 'Cause if he's not...it's a 40-50pt winger, for free basically.

 

[eramosat]

I guess Baertschi's contract scared everyone off? Nobody wants a $3.75M waiver wire player. Have to wonder if he really is just broken from all the injuries. Or at least, regressed to the butter soft perimeter player he arrived in Vancouver as. Seems like such a nice person, and he absolutely has top end skill. Made a huge amount of progress in Vancouver in actually developing the grinding aspects to utilize that skill better at the NHL level. He is in that awkward "tweener" build, where he kinda has to be in the Top-6 to really be an asset. A defensive role isn't for him. But he's a lot more useful than most of those other tweeners, in that he can be a decent 6th best forward sort of winger. Unless he really is broken now.

Mores explainable...it is very easy to acquire him for something much better than "free". Any team wanting him can request salary retention, picks, Van take on one of their players they don't want in exchnage for Vancouver recovering the lost cap, all sorts. Just competent NHL GMs dong their jobs.

 

[Pandaman11]

Thats weird even ho sang did

Me too. I know not everyone is a fan of advanced/fancy stats, but they show that last year he had 60% (!) starts in the defensive zone and mostly against the opponent's Top-6 players. In other words: he was a checking line player. And yet his possession numbers are great, i.e. more often than not, he and his linemates managed to conquer the puck and turn it into a scoring chance for the Isles.
Now imagine if he was sheltered, i.e. o-zone-starts against the opposition's bottom-sixers...

 

[WolfgangPuck]

Ho Sang and Sprong cleared? I was sure one in the bottom tier teams like Oilers or Sen would take a flyer on one on them