With NHL rosters needing to be set by 5 p.m on Monday, it was to be expected that the league’s waiver wire was going to be busy on Sunday afternoon as teams go through the arduous task of making final camp cuts and clearing up cap space.
But with regular-season action just a few days away, the Bruins opted to augment a significant portion of their depth chart — placing Mike Reilly, Nick Foligno and Chris Wagner on waivers.
Teams will now have 24 hours to claim Reilly, Foligno or Wagner.
As of now, here are the remaining players on the Bruins roster:
Forwards: Patrice Bergeron, Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk, Trent Frederic, A.J. Greer, David Krejci, Jakub Lauko, Brad Marchand, Tomas Nosek, David Pastrnak, Craig Smith, Jack Studncika, Pavel Zacha
Defense: Brandon Carlo, Connor Clifton, Derek Forbort, Hampus Lindholm, Jakub Zboril, Anton Stralman*
Goalies: Jeremy Swayman, Linus Ullmark
Injured: Taylor Hall, Brad Marchand, Matt Grzelcyk, Charlie McAvoy
*PTO
BSJ Analysis:
There were varying degrees of surprise when this latest wave of waiver designations was announced, with Reilly understandably standing at the forefront when it comes to the move that has some fans scratching their heads.
Even though it’s been telegraphed since the summer that Reilly was likely the odd man out on Boston’s blue line given both the logjam once Charlie McAvoy/Matt Grzelcyk return and the B’s looming cap crunch — some of that narrative was quieted after Reilly put forth encouraging returns during preseason play, especially as an offensive conduit in Jim Montgomery’s system.
But at the end of the day, the cap remains king when it comes to dictating roster decisions — and the Bruins stand to save a little over $3 million in cap space if all three of Reilly, Foligno and Wagner all clear waivers and report to Providence.
While it does seem unlikely that a team would want to pluck a fourth-line grinder like Wagner or a player with a $3.8 million cap hit in Foligno from the Bruins, it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise if a team in desperate need of help on the blue line claims Reilly — which would take Reilly’s entire contract ($3 million cap hit this year and in 2023-24) off Boston’s books.
It’s not as advantageous for Boston as, say, trading Reilly for a low-round draft pick later on this season, but getting a team to bite on Reilly while on the waiver wire would alleviate some of Boston’s cap woes — especially once both McAvoy and Brad Marchand are set to come off of LTIR in mid/late November.
Of course, the Bruins very well could have waited a bit later in the season to place Reilly on waivers, but Sunday’s move might mean that Grzelcyk is a lot closer to returning than previously thought. Even though he hasn’t appeared in a preseason game, Grzelcyk has been practicing in a full-contact sweater in practice the last few days — and does appear to be ahead of schedule in his return from offseason shoulder surgery.
Reilly’s exit and these subsequent cap savings could also open the door for the Bruins to finally lock Anton Stralman into a one-year contract — giving added stability to the right side of their defense.
The Bruins weren’t exactly ripping up their depth chart by waiving both Foligno and Wagner, but both moves do, in the short term, seem like an abrupt “about-face” for the team.
After all, Montgomery pretty much said Saturday morning that Wagner had done enough to make the initial NHL roster after a strong camp. Still, even with Wagner’s contributions and Foligno putting forth an encouraging performance during Saturday’s loss to the Devils, moving on from both players opens the door for the B’s to inject younger (and cheaper) players into the bottom-six grouping.
In terms of extra forwards, Tomas Nosek probably earned a spot over Wagner given his added versatility and PK prowess — while opting for players like Jakub Lauko, A.J. Greer (and eventually, someone like Marc McLaughlin) offers Boston a higher ceiling than what they might have with an aging Foligno. The Bruins could also very well recall Foligno/Wagner once McAvoy/Marchand are placed on LTIR, so long as they clear waivers first.
One has to wonder if Jack Studnicka (after surviving yet another round of cuts) gets the first nod as Boston’s 4C over Nosek, while Montgomery was impressed with what Lauko provided in a north-south, checking role during Saturday’s loss.
“He was good,” Montgomery said of Lauko. “He's doing what we've asked. He's bringing speed, he's keeping pucks in the offensive zone or taking pucks into hard areas. That's why he's been here this long. … I think the development team here did a really good job of letting him know how he needs to play.
“He's done the things that are necessary, that I think builds momentum on the third or fourth line especially with his speed, attacking the net, he's physical. He's lippy out there. He's a little bit of an agitator. He gets under people's skin."