Today’s edition of highlights from the waiver wire includes a recent 11th overall draft pick and a trio of intriguing depth options at centre. Let’s jump try to the players.
- RW Mitch Callahan. I
wondered a little if Callahan, a gritty two-way winger in the same mold as
Tyler Pitlick, might be claimed when he was on the wire last season and coming
off a big AHL campaign. His minor-league numbers fell this past year, though,
and his penalty minutes bounced back up; he’s less attractive now than he was
then. - C Landon Ferraro. A
right-shooting centre who can kill penalties, Ferraro spent most of last season
on the wing. His offensive game hasn’t developed as hoped – he had 10 points in
68 games last year – and he’s both somewhat undersized and has unglamorous shot
metrics. He might be a fit as a No. 5 centre, but at this point he looks morel
ike a ‘tweener. - RW Martin Frk. So
Frk probably won’t get claimed; he was in the ECHL as recently as 2014-15. But
he’s only 23 and had a big year in the AHL last season, scoring 27 goals for
Grand Rapids. Detroit’s famous for slow-playing their prospects and after last
season this one is somewhat interesting. - LW Stanislav Galiev. Galiev
played 24 games for Washington last season and was fine as a fourth-line
fill-in player. His scoring numbers aren’t great (three assists) but aren’t
awful once his extremely limited inutes are taken into account. He’s reasonably
big, fast and good with the puck, but based on his career numbers he may not
bring enough offence to stick in the majors. - RD Nick Jensen. This
is the first of Detroit’s difficult defensive cuts. Jensen was great in
2014-15, but his offence took a step backward last season, and as an undersized
26-year-old that may be enough to sneak him through the waiver wire. - C Bradley Malone. An
all-positions left-shooting forward, Malone has spent most of his NHL time on
the wing despite a strong faceoff percentage. He’s big, physical, energetic and
plays a responsible game that includes time on the penalty kill and decent-ish
possession numbers. He’s averaged 14 points per 82 NHL games and is a perfectly
reasonable fourth line option. - C Derek Ryan. A
former University of Alberta Golden Bear, Ryan led Sweden’s top league in
scoring in 2014-15 and then put up big numbers at the AHL level last season. He’s
a good skater, shooter and passer. He’s undersized for the major-league game
and a little bit old (29) to suddenly be emerging as a player, but we haven’t
seen what he can do at the NHL level yet. He’s a legitimate possibility for a
team in need of depth at centre. - LD Duncan Siemens. Siemens
was the 11th overall pick in the 2011 Draft, after a great WHL season in which
he looked to be an all-purpose defenceman – big, fast, good with the puck and physical,
too. His offence regressed in each of the two years that followed, and over
three seasons in the AHL he managed a total of 17 points, including a
career-high of seven set last year. Draft pedigree or not, he doesn’t look like a player on an NHL career path. - LW Eric Tangradi. Tangradi
has played at least one NHL game every season since 2009-10. It’s easy to
understand why; he’s a 6’4”, 233-pound forward who plays with a physical edge
and who scores at the AHL level (56 points in 72 games last year). His on-ice
shot metrics are pretty decent, too; the trouble is that he has just 15 points
in 144 career NHL contests. - G Dustin Tokarski. Tokarski
struggled in six games with Montreal last season, and may ultimately end up as
just a decent No. 3 goaltender. He did a decent job in the backup role in
2014-15 and was a strong AHL netminder the year before that.
Ferraro, Ryan and Malone are all decent options for a team in need of centre help. I tend to see Ryan as the most interesting, since of the three he’s the guy who a) may be able to play above the fourth line and b) is least known at the NHL level. Malone is a perfectly useful No. 12-14 forward whose versatility makes him a good fit in a spare slot and whose size and physical game will endear him to his coach. Ferraro got a long look in the majors last year after Detroit gave up on him, and didn’t do enough to convince me that the Red Wings were wrong to waive him.
The full list of waived players is available via our own General Fanager:
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