The New York Islanders have waived one of their offseason signings in former Pittsburgh Penguin Tom Kühnhackl.
On July 2, 2018, the New York Islanders signed Tom Kühnhackl to a one-year deal worth $700,000. Three months later, the Isles placed him on waivers according to Arthur Staple of The Athletic. The Islanders have reduced their roster to 27 players and it needs to be at 23 by 5:00 pm EST on Tuesday.
Kühnhackl, a fourth-round draft pick in 2010, has spent his entire 168 game NHL career with the team that drafted him, the Pittsburgh Penguins. In those 168 games, Kühnhackl scored 11 goals and 39 points.
The two-time Stanley Cup champion also has an additional three goals and seven points in 47 playoff games over the course of three seasons.
Now on waivers, every team in the NHL will have a chance to claim the 26-year-old who had no points in four preseason appearances. If he clears, he will be assigned to the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
At noon on Tuesday, it will be revealed if Kühnhackl, as well as the other 21 players on waivers, have been claimed by another club or not.
Some of the other interesting names on waivers include Sam Gagner (Vancouver Canucks), Dmitrij Jaskin (St. Louis Blues), Dale Weise (Philadelphia Flyers), and a pair of goaltenders from the Toronto Maple Leafs (Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard).
For head coach Barry Trotz, waiving Kühnhackl was the right move, at least for today.
Trotz on Kühnhackl being waived: “It’s the right decision for us as a team today. It may not be the right one in two weeks. Things change.”
— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) October 1, 2018
Among the 27 players remaining on the team’s training camp roster are veterans Dennis Seidenberg and Stephen Gionta who have both played for the team in the past and are both at camp on a PTO (professional tryout contract).
Presume that Andrew Ladd starts the season on IR and tryouts Stephen Gionta and Dennis Seidenberg are not signed. Trotz called those two “insurance” the other day. If they agree to it, they can stay unsigned and working out indefinitely.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) October 1, 2018
If those two are cut, which they almost certainly will be, there will still need to be one more cuts (assuming Andrew Ladd starts the season on injured reserve. He’s missed the last 12 practices and hasn’t appeared in any preseason games).
That last cut will likely be between Jan Kovar and Devon Toews. Both are waiver-exempt and would benefit by playing meaningful minutes in Bridgeport rather than sitting as a healthy scratch with the big club which preseason and practice lines have indicated.
Toews, the 24-year-old defenseman who probably would have made his NHL debut last season if he didn’t suffer a season-ending injury in December, had three assists in four preseason games.
Kovar, the team’s 28-year-old point-per-game KHL center, had a goal and an assist in his four preseason appearances.
