With teams making their final roster decisions over the next 24 hours, there are many players getting waived. Any team can claim the rights to any one of those players over the next day.
Monday’s list of waived players was released and there are a few surprising names on there and some that could potentially benefit the Sabres if they were interested.
We’re going to take a look at a few of those bigger names and whether or not Buffalo should consider submitting a claim. It’s important to note that there is a waiver priority:
With busy waiver day, reminder that waiver priority is based on last season’s standings until Nov 1.
1. TOR
2. EDM
3. VAN
4. CBJ
5. CGY— General Fanager (@generalfanager) October 10, 2016
PA Parenteau – Remember this guy? He’s arguably best known as a New York Islanders forward, which is the team that has just waived him. He’s played for the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. That’s six different teams in only eight seasons.
Parenteau is a two-time 20-goal scorer, but has never exceeded that number. His biggest numbers came back in 2010 and 2011 when he put up 53 and 67 points respectively. Since then, he’s played in more than 60 games in a season just once.
However, he’s a player that can put up some points on the third or fourth line. If the Sabres were interested, he’d be reunited with Matt Moulson and Kyle Okposo. At 33 years old, Parenteau may have a couple more solid seasons left and could be worth grabbing on a short deal.
Teemu Pulkkinen – This move has surprised many as the Detroit Red Wings have placed him on waivers. Pulkkinen has had a few chances with the Red Wings at the NHL level over the past three seasons. He’s played a total of 70 games and has 11 goals and nine assists to show for.
He has shown that he can score often at the AHL level. In 2013-14 with the Grand Rapids Griffins, he put up 59 points (31 goals, 28 assists) in 71 games. The following year, he improved on those numbers, scoring 61 points (34 goals, 27 assists) in only 46 games.
His AHL success has not translated to the NHL level, at least not to the extent that the Red Wings had hoped. Still, at the age of 24, Pulkkinen could be an appealing option for many teams.
Should the Sabres put a claim in for Teemu Pullkinen?
— SabresHockeyCentral (@SHCdotcom) October 10, 2016
Cory Conacher – This is a player who has battled hard to get to the NHL, but has been all over the place. He has 141 games of NHL experience as he has played for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders. He hasn’t shown great signs of success at the NHL level, but has only played more than 35 games in a season twice, both in instances where he was traded.
Conacher spent the 2015-16 season playing for the SC Bern in Switzerland, their highest professional league. He scored 22 goals and 52 points as Bern got to the title. Conacher was also on Canada’s gold-medal winning team at the Spengler Cup in December.
There are many teams that could easily pass on Conacher, but he’s still just 26. If he can find consistent playing time in one place for a season or two, maybe he could finally breakout.
Let us know what you’re thinking. Comment below with your thoughts.