A pair of veteran NHLers were placed on waivers Monday.
The Edmonton Oilers, needing to clear room for Ilya Bryzgalov, waived 33-year-old goalie Jason LaBarbera while Vancouver put 25-year-old forward/defenseman Yannick Weber on the wire.
Edmonton signed LaBarbera in July to a one-year, $1 million deal in the hopes of providing stable backup play to Devan Dubnyk. That’s failed to happen, though -- away from the friendly confines of the Phoenix Coyotes’ defensive system, LaBarbera struggled mightily in Edmonton and hits the waiver wire boasting an ugly 1-3-0 record with a 3.69 GAA and .858 save percentage.
Weber, who signed with Vancouver in the summer after five seasons with Montreal, had fallen out of favor after appearing in 10 games to start the season. The versatile Swiss skater played both defense and forward for Vancouver this season but couldn’t get a game lately, sitting in the press box for the last six contests.
It’ll be interesting to see if either guy lands with a new club. With the number of goalies lost to injury (Evgeni Nabokov, Pekka Rinne, Nikolai Khabublin) it’s feasible that LaBarbera could get a short-term look somewhere, while Weber might be worth a look given he’s cheap ($650,000 capt hit) and can play on the blueline and up front.
Nux AGM Laurence Gilman says Yannick Weber will be assigned to Utica if he clears waivers. Roster spot needed for Dale Weise. #Canucks
— Elliott Pap (@ElliottPap) November 18, 2013