Quote:
Originally Posted by The Cobra
Sometimes, but let’s not pretend that’s the norm.
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But I also think it's more indicative of what his current situation was than it was any sort of indication of his long term upside.
When he was waived NHL GMs were in the process of having to trim down their rosters, and claiming him would have meant having to make a decision on another player.
He was also coming off a injury plagued season that saw him underperform his previous play at both the NHL and AHL level, so that was also going to be factored in when needing to keep him on your NHL roster.
Add that LW is also not generally a big position of need for most teams he cleared waivers (generally C, Dmen, and goalies are more likely to get claimed at the start of season waivers).
GMs were making a short term decision when they decided not to pick him up, not a long term decision.