Eriksson, Perry among players placed on waivers before start of NHL season

Vancouver winger Loui Eriksson and Montreal forward Corey Perry were among the players placed on waivers by their NHL clubs Monday as teams worked to get their rosters in order before the start of the season.

Players who clear waivers can be assigned to a team’s minor-league affiliate or a taxi squad of four-to-six players.

Taxi-squad players will practise with the NHL club and be available to add to the active roster as late as 5 p.m. ET on game day, essentially extending the size of the team beyond the 23-man limit when teams submit their rosters to the league on Tuesday.

It also allows clubs to get some extra wiggle room, as players will not have their salaries count against the cap while on the taxi squad. Eriksson, for example, carries a cap hit of US$6 million this season.

Waiving a player for purposes of reassignment, of course, is not without risk. The Florida Panthers snapped up defenceman Noah Juulsen after Montreal placed the 2015 first-round pick on waivers.

Forward Sven Baertschi ($3.37-million cap hit) was also placed on waivers by the Canucks, as well as forwards Justin Bailey and Tyler Graovac and defencemen Guillaume Brisebois and Ashton Sautner.

Perry was placed on waivers two weeks after signing a one-year, $750,000 contract with Montreal. The 35-year-old, named NHL MVP in 2011, had five goals and 16 assists in 57 regular-season games with Dallas last year, and added five goals and four assists in 27 post-season contests.

The Canadiens also placed forward Michael Frolik, another recent veteran signing, on waivers.

The Edmonton Oilers announced Monday that forwards Jujhar Khaira, Patrick Russell, Joakim Nygard and Alan Quine and goaltender Anton Forsberg were placed on waivers.

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced  they have put 14 players on waivers, including defencemen Timothy Liljegren and Martin Marincin, forward Nic Petan and goaltender Michael Hutchinson.

South of the border, notable names put on waivers included Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tyler Johnson and defenceman Luke Schenn.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 11, 2021.

The Canadian Press