GMs are busy during these late dates in the trade deadline, and that goes beyond merely working the phones to try to get a good deal.
The waiver wire is another scene of noteworthy activity, even if sometimes the most interesting activities come in teams passing on claiming someone off of waivers. This is one of those cases. Let’s look at what happened:
- The Senators placed Alex Burrows on waivers, but no dice. Burrows’ experience feels like a microcosm of the Sens: his situation is in question almost a year to the day after being traded to Ottawa in exchange for prospect Jonathan Dahlen. It was a controversial decision at the time, and the Senators doubled down by signing Burrows to a two-year, $5 million contract extension.
Whether he heads to the AHL or just hovers around in Ottawa, that $2.5M lingers in 2018-19. Not great for a team that’s pinching pennies.
“We know he’s got a lot of juice left in the tank and we know he’s going to be a really good player for us.” - Pierre Dorion on Alex Burrows, Feb. 27, 2017.
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) February 25, 2018
- A different Senators player did get claimed, as the Philadelphia Flyers grabbed aging defenseman Johnny Oduya. This gives a young group a veteran presence, even if Oduya’s on the decline. Meanwhile, the Flyers waived Mark Alt, who was summarily claimed by the Colorado Avalanche.
Oduya for Alt, in essence, is what Flyers did. Good for this year’s run, but not for future.
— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) February 26, 2018
- The Calgary Flames love their beefy players who can score at a modest clip. They paid big money for Troy Brouwer, only to see him go from a nice-enough scorer to a modest one. With some injury questions lingering in a few spots, the Flames claimed Chris Stewart from the Wild.
Conroy on TSN -
— Christian Roatis (@croatis) February 26, 2018
on Stewart: they don't know when Ferland is back so Stewart is insurance. Not great news.
on Smith: got to get him on the ice but its looking okay, still day-to-day
on trades: Treliving is working hard to make a hockey deal and doesn't want to give up picks.
Bruce Boudreau is clearly still fond of Stewart.
Boudreau happy Stewart landed in Calgary. “He’s too good a person, too good a teammate for nothing to happen to him. Calgary got better with him.”
— Sarah McLellan (@sarah__mclellan) February 26, 2018
***
Chances are, these players aren’t going to be huge difference-makers, but some might argue the same for a lot of players involved in today’s trades. At least in these cases, waiver claims only cost teams roster spots and cap space.
More: PHT’s 2018 Trade Deadline Tracker.
—
James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.