Three NHL players placed on waivers for March 2
Three players have found themselves on the waiver wire on Monday, as Detroit Red Wings defenseman Erik Gustafsson, Minnesota Wild center Tyler Pitlick and Seattle Kraken defenseman Gustav Olofsson are all being reassigned to their respective teams’ AHL squads.
New on waivers Gustafsson (DET) Olofsson (SEA) Pitlick (MIN)
Minnesota claims Robby Fabbri
The three players are now available to be claimed by 30 other teams in the league over the course of the next 24 hours. The only team unable to claim him is the Vegas Golden Knights, as they have reached the maximum of 50 standard player contracts, and would need to move a player to do so. 10 teams are currently unable to take on Olofsson or Pitlick’s $775,000 cap hits without making a roster move, while an additional five teams can not take on Erik Gustafsson’s contract.
With the NHL season past the month of October, the waiver priority order is determined by the inverse order of the standings, which means the Vancouver Canucks currently have first say on claiming any player, while the Colorado Avalanche are last in that order.
Gustafsson finds himself on the wire amid speculation that the Red Wings are pursuing Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers, so it’s possible Detroit are creating room on the NHL roster for him with the move. Gustafsson has two goals and 18 assists for 20 points in 22 games in the AHL. He is in the final year of a two-year contract with a $2 million cap hit.
Pitlick is likely on waivers as a response to the Wild also claiming Robby Fabbri off of waivers from the St. Louis Blues on Monday. The Wild had only used up 22 of their roster spots on the NHL squad after placing Marcus Foligno on injured reserve, but opted to reassign Pitlick. He has just two goals in 32 games with Minnesota this season, along with eight goals and three assists for 11 points in 12 games in the AHL.
Olofsson’s waiver placement comes just after agreeing to a one-year, $775,000 extension with the Kraken on Monday. He didn’t get into any action with the Kraken, and has two goals and 14 assists for 16 points in 29 games in the AHL.