Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock was very much the diplomat after goalies Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard were claimed off waivers Tuesday.
''Good for Mac. Good for Pick,’' Babcock said. ''Too bad for our depth.’'
McElhinney was claimed by the Carolina Hurricanes, whose projected starter Scott Darling is injured and set to miss a few weeks. McElhinney has a 62-71-13 record in 10 seasons among six teams.
The Philadelphia Flyers claimed Pickard and placed him on non-roster status, while placing goalie Michal Neuvirth on injured reserve because of a groin injury. Pickard had a 21-9-1 record in helping the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs’ American Hockey League affiliate, win their first championship last season.
Toronto opens the season against Montreal on Wednesday with no experience behind starter Frederik Andersen and backup Garret Sparks. The next in line for now is Kasimir Kaskisuo, who has a 20-14-1 record in 38 AHL games.
''That’s the way it goes,’' Babcock said, referring to the waiver system. ''You’d love to have them all slip through, but they didn’t.’'
Two other players were claimed on a day NHL teams were required to set their 23-player rosters.
The Washington Capitals added St. Louis forward Dmitrij Jaskin, the odd man out after the Blues restocked their forwards this offseason. Jaskin was St. Louis’ second-round pick in the 2011 draft and has 25 goals and 61 points in 266 games over six seasons.
The Buffalo Sabres claimed left wing Remi Elie from Dallas. The 23-year-old Elie was the Stars’ second-round pick in the 2013 draft. He had six goals and 14 points in his first full season last year. He has seven goals and 21 points in 90 career NHL games.
The Sabres finalized their roster by placing forwards Scott Wilson (broken ankle), Sean Malone and Johan Larsson and defenseman Matt Hunwick (neck) on injured reserve.
The Edmonton Oilers signed forward Alex Chiasson and defenseman Jason Garrison to one-year contracts.
Chaisson is a sixth-year player who is on his third team in three seasons after helping the Capitals win a Stanley Cup last season. The 33-year-old Garrison is a 10-year veteran who spent most of last season playing for the Las Vegas Knights’ minor league affiliate in Chicago.
Edmonton also assigned defenseman Ethan Bear to the minors and placed defenseman Kris Russell on injured reserve.
The Los Angeles Kings placed forwards Dustin Brown (broken finger) and Jonny Brodzinski on injured reserve and released forward Emerson Etem from his tryout agreement.
Nashville Predators forward Ryan Hartman was placed on injured reserve as he continues to recover from offseason shoulder surgery. Forward Austin Watson was placed on the non-roster list. He was suspended by the NHL for the entire preseason and first 27 games of the regular season for domestic abuse. Nashville also assigned forward Rocco Grimaldi to the minors.
Minnesota Wild defenseman Gustav Olofsson was the only player placed on waivers Tuesday.
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