[UPDATE: While Connolly cleared, Stalock was claimed by the Oilers.]
Sunday’s NHL waiver wire has a couple of interesting names on it thanks to Florida Panthers forward Brett Connolly and Minnesota Wild goalie Alex Stalock being placed on waivers by their respective teams.
Let’s start with Connolly.
It is a little surprising to see him on the waiver wire at this point because he is only in year two of a four-year, $14 million contract that he signed in free agency with the Panthers prior to the 2019-20 season. While he has been off to a slow start this season with just one goal and two assists in 16 games, he was very good for the Panthers a year ago with 19 goals and 33 total points in 69 games. While he may have never panned out the way you might want a No. 6 overall pick to develop, he has still been a very consistent 15-20 goal forward that can drive possession. That is a heck of a player to have in your lineup. Not a star, but extremely useful.
Having said that, the contract and his slow start this season will probably get him through waivers unclaimed.
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Stalock, on the other hand, seems like he could be attractive to a goalie-needy team right now.
He has yet to appear in a game this season as he recovered from an offseason upper-body injury and at one point was on the Wild’s COVID list. He seems to be closer to a return but is apparently losing out on a crowded numbers game in Minnesota. Cam Talbot is in the first year of a three-year contract and played extremely well, while Kaapo Kahkonen has been great in Talbot’s COVID-related absence. Andrew Hammond is also on the team’s taxi squad.
Stalock has been a very strong backup throughout his career and is coming off of a 2019-20 performance that saw him finish with a .910 save percentage and 20-11-4 record in 36 appearances. He is in year two of a three-year contract that carries a salary cap number of $785,000 per season.
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.