Former Leaf surprisingly clears waivers
Many were taken aback when the Ottawa Senators announced on Wednesday that they would be placing defenseman Nikita Zaitsev on waivers. Zaitsev had been a fixture on their blueline since acquiring the 31-year-old Russian back in 2019 in the deal that also brought them Connor Brown (now in Washington on LTIR).
Well, somewhat shockingly, Zaitsev has cleared waivers and the Sens are now free to assign him to the AHL's Belleville Senators if they so choose. Zaitsev had an outstanding first season in Toronto back in 2016-17, notching 36 points in 82 games in his first run on North American ice. He has never played in the AHL in his career, so we'll see if a demotion comes.
Per Elliotte Friedman on The Jeff Marek Show, the move gives the Sens a little over $1M in cap relief should Zaitsev indeed wind up in the AHL. Marek indicated that Winnipeg and Vancouver, who are looking to shake things up, might be willing to move a blueliner.
You'd figure that with right-shot defenders seemingly always pretty scarce, someone would have taken a shot at Zaitsev. It seems likely that his $4.5M cap hit this year and next was a deterrent for teams.
Like we saw with Alex Galchenyuk a few seasons back, now that Zaitsev has cleared waivers, he may now be a more desirable trade piece for teams - especially if the Sens are willing to eat some of his salary. With Zaitsev already having cleared waivers, any team acquiring him would not have to worry about placing him on waivers again before sending him down and he could report directly to their AHL affiliate.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 10 | 241 ANSWERS Former Leaf surprisingly clears waivers Are you surprised that Nikita Zaitsev cleared waivers? | ||
| Yes | 54 | 22.4 % |
| No | 131 | 54.4 % |
| I'm surprised he's still in the NHL period | 56 | 23.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
