Jeeez. Waivers really snuck up on Lavoie. Feels like he was just getting draft the other day. But i guess part of that has just been taking his time in really finding his footing as a scorer at the pro level. Definitely an interesting decision for the Oilers. You probably want him in a scoring role, but he might not be fully ready for that at the NHL level. Does seem like a cheap depth guy that they might just keep around rather than risk losing.
Niemelainen is another interesting one. Teams always want big defencemen like that. But he's kind of hovering right at the fringes of being a real NHL defenceman still, and as a younger guy...i'm not sure it does much good for anyone to claim him only to have him sitting in the press box most nights.
JBD would absolutely be claimed if he hits waivers. Lassie Thomson is an interesting one though, in that he's in that awkward spot where he hasn't really established he's an NHLer yet...but there's potential there. Is there a team that would actually burn a roster spot on him right now, knowing that he's probably not entirely ready and might actually end up stunting his development if you press him into that role too soon?
It also raises a question of whether the Sens might be a team that moves someone, maybe even JBD just to get out of this waivers situation. He'd have value of some kind in a swap...but i'm not sure what Ottawa would really want out of it. Generally i'd assume it's a Forward in a similar waivers position...but the Sens don't necessarily need or have tons of room for more bodies up front either.
montrealhockeynow.com
