Thomas Hickey among seven New York Islanders placed on waivers

Josh Ho-Sang and Mason Jobst have cleared waivers, but the Isles add seven more.

The NHL has been almost historically busy in terms of waivers, and the New York Islanders are part of it all. On Monday, the Islanders placed seven players on waivers, just one day after LW Josh Ho-Sang and C Mason Jobst were put on waivers.

#Isles on waivers today:
Cole Bardreau
Austin Czarnik
Tanner Fritz
AJ Greer
Thomas Hickey
Andrew Ladd
Parker Wotherspoon

Ho-Sang and Jobst cleared.

— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) January 11, 2021

Ho-Sang and Jobst both cleared, but it’ll be interesting to see what happens to the seven who were made available on Monday.

The seven players are Cole Bardreau, Austin Czarnik, Tanner Fritz, A.J. Greer, Thomas Hickey, Andrew Ladd, and Parker Wotherspoon.

It’s a little interesting to see Hickey’s name here because, as Arthur Staple of The Athletic notes, that leaves the Islanders with little depth at defense.

#Isles are still reportedly trying to move salary. If it's Thomas Hickey, that leaves them with very little depth on D. Keep an eye on the noon waiver wire to see if there are any depth D candidates the #Isles could pick up should they make a trade.

— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) January 11, 2021

Hickey has been a member of the organization for a while (since 2013), but his role hasn’t been clear over the past two years.

He’s struggled with injuries and ended up being replaced by Devon Toews who, as we know, played well enough to keep that job.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman did report that the Islanders had tried to trade Hickey, but those efforts were clearly unsuccessful.

It’s not unknown that Ladd has an abysmal contract: it’s at a $5.5 million cap hit and he’s a 35-year-old winger who’s barely played over the past two years. If he does clear waivers, he’ll almost certainly be sent to the AHL.

Several of these names aren’t surprises, but it will be interesting to see what becomes of Hickey and Ladd, both of whom are now depth options that the Islanders would benefit financially from seeing leave.