The Anaheim Ducks have claimed forward J.T. Brown off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Brown was placed on waivers yesterday and teams had 24 hours to put a claim in on him. As I wrote yesterday, I figured there was about a 50/50 chance that Brown would get claimed. In a corresponding move, Anaheim put Logan Shaw on waivers. Anaheim was the twelfth team in waiver order for JT.
Waiver Order Jan 13:
ari buf van edm ott
mtl fla det pit nyi
car ana phi min chi
col cbj nyr tor cgy
dal stl s.j l.a n.j
wpg wsh bos nsh vgk
t.b— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) January 13, 2018
The last time general manager Steve Yzerman placed a player on waivers, Gabriel Dumont was claimed by the Ottawa Senators. Ottawa then placed Chris DiDomenico on waivers. Yzerman responded by claiming DiDomenico and sending him to the Syracuse Crunch on a conditioning assignment where he played three games before being waived by the Lightning and given back to Ottawa.
If Anaheim places Brown on waivers again this season and he goes unclaimed by any other team in the NHL, the Lightning can take him back and assign him directly to the AHL.
The next step for the team is determining what roster moves might be necessary later this week when they come off of their bye week. With a long road trip out to the midwest followed by a Western Canada trip after the All-Star Game break, the Lightning likely need to add another forward to the roster. Dan Girardi is expected to be back by the end of the bye week and will put the Lightning back at seven defensemen, but only 12 forwards on the roster. With the travel difficulties of getting out west in a hurry, having another forward on the roster will be smart.
The most likely candidates for a call-up in no particular order are Michael Bournival, Matthew Peca, and Adam Erne. Lower down the list, but still possible, are Carter Verhaeghe, Anthony Cirelli, and Mathieu Joseph.
In the meantime, the Lightning get out of the rest of Brown’s $1.25 million cap hit and don’t have to carry some of his cap hit for burying him in the AHL. This extra cap room will come in handy as we approach the trade deadline and Yzerman seeks ways to bolster the roster for a playoff run.
