More scintillating action from the 2012 NHL Trade Deadline: Montreal has claimed Minnesota forward Brad Staubitz off re-entry waivers and Winnipeg did the same with Columbus defenseman Grant Clitsome.
The latter of those claims could be a prelude to a larger deal. Winnipeg has received offers for UFA defenseman Johnny Oduya and if he’s shipped out, Clitsome is a capable lineup replacement on the Jets blueline. The 26-year-old Clitsome spent his entire career with the Blue Jackets organization, appearing in 93 games over the last three seasons.
Staubitz, 27, had spent the last two seasons with the Wild but was shipped off to AHL Houston after a poor performance on Feb. 9 in a 5-2 loss to Vancouver. He had zero goals, zero assists and (for you mathletes out there) zero points in 43 games with Minnesota this season.
In related news, the following players have cleared waivers entirely: Brian Rolston (New York Islanders), Eric Boulton (New Jersey), Ryan Russell (Columbus) and Krys Kolanos (Calgary).