Confirmed with Link: Wennberg on waivers for purpose of buyout

[Long Live Lyle]

Wennberg to be placed on waivers for purposes of a buyout according to Porty on Twitter.

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[DJA]

 

[Forepar]

And while I think there is some value/recovery in Wennberg's future, this is a no-brainer in many ways.

 

[DJA]

The move also clears roughly $4.5 million in salary-cap space for Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen, who is trying to upgrade the club’s forwards. Kekäläinen has already completed one trade, acquiring center Max Domi from Montreal on Tuesday, but he isn’t finished yet.
Also, free agency opens on Friday, and there are several players available who could add firepower to the Blue Jackets lineup. The team is looking for a left winger to play in its top six or a third-line center who would allow Boone Jenner to return to left wing.
The Blue Jackets are expected to make a pitch on Friday to former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall, who won’t be re-signing with Arizona. Columbus couldn’t possibly fit Hall under the salary cap — or many of the other prominent UFAs, for that matter — without cutting ties with Wennberg.

Blue Jackets to buy out remaining three years on Alexander Wennberg’s contract
Blue Jackets to buy out remaining three years on Alexander Wennberg's contract

 

[GoJackets1]

Bye Wenny. Honestly, I hope he gets an opportunity elsewhere. It just wasn't going to happen here and now Jarmo has room to maneuver.

 

[Kevo22363]

There's the first domino. I feel a little excited. I think this means that Jarmo has a lot of opportunities and he's making the room.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Bye Wenny. Honestly, I hope he gets an opportunity elsewhere. It just wasn't going to happen here and now Jarmo has room to maneuver.

He'll get an opportunity somewhere. He's still an NHL player, just not at the salary he was getting paid.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Just a quick question. What's Wennberg all about? Is he a solid 3C? Is he good defensively? What's his playstyle like? I'm just curious.

 

[ViD]

Just a quick question. What's Wennberg all about? Is he a solid 3C? Is he good defensively? What's his playstyle like? I'm just curious.

He’s decent defensively, that’s all positive I can say about him

 

[Viqsi]

Just a quick question. What's Wennberg all about? Is he a solid 3C? Is he good defensively? What's his playstyle like? I'm just curious.

The easiest way to sum him up is "third defenseman". He had a period in which he was producing like gangbusters and we were all sure he was going to be our #2C or even our #1C. But then his already rare willingness to shoot vanished, and he became a lot more tentative with the puck after a Tom Wilson cheapshot. So nowadays he acts more like a positionally sound defenseman than an offense-driving center. He's pretty good at that job, and he's ceased shying away from contact, and there are brief moments when it looks like he could be that badass scorer again, but he never really sustains it.

If you're looking for a bruiser or a pure shutdown guy... that's not him. But if you don't mind a more "two-way" style of defensive play, he does surprisingly well. He's just not worth just shy of $5M, and we were able to drop his cap hit down to half of the NHL minimum salary, so it was an unavoidable opportunity. If we could have negotiated his salary down, I'd have kept him.

 

[Cowumbus]

Just a quick question. What's Wennberg all about? Is he a solid 3C? Is he good defensively? What's his playstyle like? I'm just curious.

Decent defensive center who can pass but can’t score.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

He's an NHL level player at center for a team that wants a steady, intelligent defensive presence that will occasionally deliver a flash of offense but far too often is just there in the offensive zone.

I'll tell you now I won't lose any sleep even if his production picks up. He's done here.

 

[Long Live Lyle]

Just a quick question. What's Wennberg all about? Is he a solid 3C? Is he good defensively? What's his playstyle like? I'm just curious.

Pretty good defensively, from a positional standpoint, not really from a checking/“lockdown” standpoint. Good, not great, skater. Pretty good vision and great passing skill. Ok puck carrying skill. His shot’s probably about average, maybe slightly below, but the biggest issue is he barely ever uses it; a “pass-first” player to a fault. That and he’s now largely a “perimeter” player - particularly after a bad hit to the head from Tom Wilson a few years ago - are what I think most in the fanbase would say are his two biggest weaknesses. Used to be awful at faceoffs but has improved there.

He’s a “solid” 3C, probably worth $2-2.5 M. I think $3M AAV is an overpay, but could theoretically be justifiable. Anything more than that is too much, and that’s why we bought him out. If he was making even $3M instead of $5M, we almost certainly would’ve kept him.

 

[MAHJ71]

A deep, massive sigh of relief

 

[pscbj80]

Wish him the best of luck. Screw Tom Wilson for that hit.

 

[CBJ goalie]

Gonna miss him, hope he does well wherever he ends up.

A great way to finish his career with CBJ:

 

[Socks]

Fare thee well Wenny!

 

[Jovavic]

That collective attractiveness of the team just took a big hit.

He's still an NHL player, just at half of the price he was getting paid at. Enjoy that giant check, Pooh, and good luck.

 

[punk_o_holic]

Wish him all the best. I think whoever signs him will be happy (based on money they pay him for his play).

 

[Finner]

With the right money i would like to have Wenny but his contract was just toooo huge. All best for him

 

[Fro]

Thanks for being a great team player wenny...good luck

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Thank you all for your responses. f*** Tom Wilson.

 

[Johansen2Foligno]

It took a couple years, but you don't tell off Torts on the bench and expect to be on the team in 2021.

 

[Jyrki]

To think we paid Vegas to take Wild Bill instead of Anderson, all because everyone thought Wennberg was a slam dunk 2C... man I'm so sad it came to this. The injury really screwed him over. Hope he does well wherever he goes.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Hadn't looked at this in a long time. It's as bad now as I remember. Wilson is a true POS.