We in the hockey world have been so conditioned to freak out anytime we see a big name on waivers, and that’s pretty much what happened Saturday on Twitter when the Hurricanes placed Jake Gardiner on waivers.
Intent won’t really matter if he gets claimed (more on that later), but we have to remember there’s more to waivers this season. They can be weaponized from a salary-cap standpoint with the taxi squad, and that’s exactly what the Hurricanes are trying to do.
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Gardiner has been in and out of the lineup and dealing with an upper-body injury for a few weeks now, missing a total of seven games. With the Hurricanes having more than enough talent on the blue line, and with Gardiner’s $4,050,000 cap hit, they decided to place him on waivers with the intent to get him on the taxi squad.
A front-office source says if he clears, Gardiner will be on the taxi squad on off days and on days when he would’ve been scratched, so the Canes can save a little cap space. “That’s it. Nothing more,” the source said.
One might wonder why they’d need the extra space, though. According to CapFriendly, they’ve already got a decent amount: $5,052,292. And that’s without the Gardiner situation finalized (and without putting any of their injured players on long-term injured reserve).
It could be nothing, but the trade deadline is approaching, so it also could be something As Twitter user “bring E Staal back ’21” asked me, are the Canes freeing up space in anticipation of another move?
Quite possibly.
Especially in light of Vincent Trocheck’s upper-body injury (which I’m hearing is longer-term), it does look like the Canes might be primed for a move. And, according to Pierre LeBrun, it just might be one “bring E Staal back ’21” would love.
It sure makes you think, “bring E Staal back ‘21” 😂 https://t.co/vm58v2ejYY
— Sara Civ (@SaraCivian) March 13, 2021
Every day Gardiner is off the NHL roster will mean prorated cap savings for the Canes. And if a team actually picked him up off waivers, they’d be off the hook for his actual salary — and the two remaining years of his contract — as well.
What are the chances that of that happening?
Waiver rules for injury haven’t changed this year, but sources indicate Gardiner isn’t seriously injured and could play if needed. The thing is, the Canes have options while he gets all the way back to 100 percent. They don’t need him in their lineup when they already have six other NHL-caliber defensemen: Jaccob Slavin, Dougie Hamilton, Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce, Haydn Fleury and emerging rookie Jake Bean.
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But even if Gardiner’s injury status isn’t a concern for a claiming team, his cap hit will be. Barring LTIR, the only contenders that could realistically claim him with their current cap space are Florida and Boston, and neither seems like a likely destination for him. Columbus, Pittsburgh, Colorado and Dallas are other destinations that could use freed space from LTIR to pick him up, but there’s always a risk that one of the players on LTIR comes back — it’s just a risk.
So there’s not a 100 percent chance Gardiner stays a Hurricane, but this move didn’t have anything to do with his performance, and it’s a calculated risk that makes sense given the unusual circumstances.
(Photo: Gregg Forwerck / NHLI via Getty Images)