Claimed off Waivers: [BUF] Christian Wolanin claimed off waivers by the Sabres from the Kings

[MMC]

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[The Devilish Buffoon]

He looked really promising in 2018-2019, I thought he was sure to be at least a #5 D who could anchor a PP2. Then he missed a year with a shoulder injury and was just awful in limited opportunities the following year. I have always liked him and would love to see him become a player.

 

[uncleben]

For those interested, this cost Buffalo $41,250, paid to Los Angeles and not counted against the cap.

 

[tkb81]

For those interested, this cost Buffalo $41,250, paid to Los Angeles and not counted against the cap.

It's like your reading my mind bro

 

[Maurice of Orange]

Wolanen will be the Sabres extra defenseman until Jokiharju returns from injury and pushes Butcher to 7D.

 

[Mike Jones]

For those interested, this cost Buffalo $41,250, paid to Los Angeles and not counted against the cap.

So it would be cheaper to make a trade and acquire Wolanin in exchange for future considerations?

 

[Le Barron de HF]

For those interested, this cost Buffalo $41,250, paid to Los Angeles and not counted against the cap.

By curiosity, why is it that teams get some sort of compensation when a player gets claimed?

 

[Reaper45]

So it would be cheaper to make a trade and acquire Wolanin in exchange for future considerations?

Yeah. Don’t think the Kings were looking to deal him though.

 

[KingTech]

For those interested, this cost Buffalo $41,250, paid to Los Angeles and not counted against the cap.

Sounds like the kings got the road pizza money for the year

 

[SensFactor]

I always like Wolanin just had terrible inconsistency in his play. Some nights good, some night horrid. Wish him luck in Buffalo

 

[Yog S'loth]

Ahhhhhh (bleep) you Sabres

 

[kilowatt]

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

Yea yea give us back Marco Sturm you bums!
So gross that my favorite player as a kid is now an assistant coach for the Kings.

 

[uncleben]

By curiosity, why is it that teams get some sort of compensation when a player gets claimed?

Consider it as they're buying the contract from the other team, like a transfer fee.

The compensation amount is dependent on the player's experience (fewer years experience equals high compensation), with the idea that a team has put in years of development and investment into the player before they are waiver eligible, and this is some pay back for that investment.

 

[PunchImlach is Alive]

Sabres are undefeated since this pickup

 

[biturbo19]

Was he that bad in Kings camp, or just pushed out by others?

I still really like his potential, as a decent depth defenceman in the right situation. He's got a lot of traits that are useful. And it still seemed like there was a little bit of potential upside there, despite his age creeping up there. He's still pretty "young" in NHL experience terms.


Going to Buffalo though...RIP his career i guess. Unless they end up waiving him again soon, to have him picked up somewhere else. Where he becomes like...the "designated super sub" for like a dozen different teams this season. Getting passed around the league as filler/depth where it's needed at any given time. That'd be an interesting way to earn a living.

 

[Reaper45]

Was he that bad in Kings camp, or just pushed out by others?

I still really like his potential, as a decent depth defenceman in the right situation. He's got a lot of traits that are useful. And it still seemed like there was a little bit of potential upside there, despite his age creeping up there. He's still pretty "young" in NHL experience terms.


Going to Buffalo though...RIP his career i guess. Unless they end up waiving him again soon, to have him picked up somewhere else. Where he becomes like...the "designated super sub" for like a dozen different teams this season. Getting passed around the league as filler/depth where it's needed at any given time. That'd be an interesting way to earn a living.

Maatta was hurt and Wolanin made the team because of that. But he had surpassed Clague and seemed to bring an element the Kings sorely lack on the backend. The Kings have too many similar little to no offense defenders. Bjornfot, Roy, Maatta, Anderson.

 

[Xspyrit]

He looked really promising in 2018-2019, I thought he was sure to be at least a #5 D who could anchor a PP2. Then he missed a year with a shoulder injury and was just awful in limited opportunities the following year. I have always liked him and would love to see him become a player.

He also became a huge college star towards his end of his college career and was pretty damn good in the AHL too. I was pretty high on him in 2017-18 and it started materializing in 2018-19. He looked like a surefire NHL player before his injury in 2019-20. Sometimes, an injury is all it takes to derail a career. You're competing with most of the best hockey players in the world, there's a limited number of jobs and the opportunities come and go.

Hopefully he seizes this opportunity and then earn himself 1 or 2 NHL contracts.

 

[Adele Dazeem]

You could do worse on your bottom-pair.

 

[Lindberg Cheese]

Played decently in the worlds if I remember correctly, nice snag

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

You could do worse on your bottom-pair.

Or in Buffalo's case, you can and will do worse on your bottom pair. Go ahead, take a look at the last decade of bottom pairing defensemen for that team, who I just spent what seems like a lifetime watching as a Sabres fan.

Joking aside, they SHOULD finally have a good defense in about 2 years with Dahlin, Power, Jokiharu, Samuelsson, Johnson, et al.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

He looked really promising in 2018-2019, I thought he was sure to be at least a #5 D who could anchor a PP2. Then he missed a year with a shoulder injury and was just awful in limited opportunities the following year. I have always liked him and would love to see him become a player.

Pretty much how he looks now, honestly.

Was he that bad in Kings camp, or just pushed out by others?

I still really like his potential, as a decent depth defenceman in the right situation. He's got a lot of traits that are useful. And it still seemed like there was a little bit of potential upside there, despite his age creeping up there. He's still pretty "young" in NHL experience terms.


Going to Buffalo though...RIP his career i guess. Unless they end up waiving him again soon, to have him picked up somewhere else. Where he becomes like...the "designated super sub" for like a dozen different teams this season. Getting passed around the league as filler/depth where it's needed at any given time. That'd be an interesting way to earn a living.

If anything he was pretty good at Kings camp, just poor asset mgmt here by Blake essentially choosing Maatta over Wolanin. Wolanin at least has an ID and can bring some offense. Maatta is just a full on stick of dynamite on the ice. Wolanin, if not helping the Kings, could have gone and really helped Ontario; Maatta hurts either team. Just stupid. And an example of just choosing a 'vet' for sake of choosing a vet no matter how bad that vet is. But a great opportunity for Christian and I hope he turns some heads and gets some NHL time.

 

[kilowatt]

If anything he was pretty good at Kings camp, just poor asset mgmt here by Blake essentially choosing Maatta over Wolanin. Wolanin at least has an ID and can bring some offense. Maatta is just a full on stick of dynamite on the ice. Wolanin, if not helping the Kings, could have gone and really helped Ontario; Maatta hurts either team. Just stupid. And an example of just choosing a 'vet' for sake of choosing a vet no matter how bad that vet is. But a great opportunity for Christian and I hope he turns some heads and gets some NHL time.

Wolanin wasn't going to play over Edler, Bjornfot, or Anderson, period. I'm still all for trading Maatta, I think he's a nightmare on the ice. Walker's really flying next to Edler and is logging second- or third-most minutes out there and looking great doing it. If there are injuries that we need to contend with and we manage to convince someone else to take Olli "Bobby Orr" Maatta, we have a ton of options: Strand, Moverare, Clague, Spence, Durzi. I could see any of these guys getting a chance for a couple games this year.

But for Wolanin's sake, I hope he gets a chance, it just probably wasn't going to happen in LA. Perhaps there was some good will there on Blake's part to give him an opportunity to go elsewhere and show what he's made of.

 

[SENStastic]

Sabres are undefeated since this pickup

Ya they're really going hard for a playoff push now aren't they? This will surely put them over the top. Eichel is missing out.

 

[Reaper45]

Wolanin wasn't going to play over Edler, Bjornfot, or Anderson, period. I'm still all for trading Maatta, I think he's a nightmare on the ice. Walker's really flying next to Edler and is logging second- or third-most minutes out there and looking great doing it. If there are injuries that we need to contend with and we manage to convince someone else to take Olli "Bobby Orr" Maatta, we have a ton of options: Strand, Moverare, Clague, Spence, Durzi. I could see any of these guys getting a chance for a couple games this year.

But for Wolanin's sake, I hope he gets a chance, it just probably wasn't going to happen in LA. Perhaps there was some good will there on Blake's part to give him an opportunity to go elsewhere and show what he's made of.

I think the issue is that Wolanin has the potential of being better than Edler currently is and even could’ve forced the Kings to move one of the thousand stay at home types they have and have a bit more balance on their pairings then what’s going on with the d as it’s shaped now. I think Strand will look back fondly on his 13 career NHL games or whatever he’s going to have when he calls it quits. Moverare is too slow IMO, Durzi and Clague are borderline NHL’ers like Strand. Spence has a chance.