Well every year there are players who should've been claimed, Phoenix Copley cleared waivers last preseason and he ended up being better than Quick/Petersen for LA, Alex Lyon, one of the reasons Florida had their late season push cleared waivers, Emil Bemstrom, who had 22 points in 55 games last year cleared waivers, Jordan Martinook, who ended up playing all 82 games for the Canes and had 34 points along with 12 playoff points in 15 games cleared waivers during the preseason, etc

In general its often found players who go on waivers early often dont get claimed vs the guys who are waived later.

Would not surprise me if the same occurs and we see more surprises pass through once again

Ty Smith on waivers. Wonder if someone takes a flyer on the former 1st round pick

Vasi will be out for 8 - 10 weeks after back surgery

I'd like to see the Sharks claim Ty. Could be useful for such a weak overall D corps.

True but they also want to be purposefully bad for a chance at whoever the 2024 1OA picks gonna be

Another reason to have got him a proper backup.

Vasi has been an amazing goalie but they still need rest. Last playoffs u could tell he was off and after his comments of being tired and stuff man I was surprised TBL didnt go find a way to get him rest. Now this happens. Hopefully its not to bad and it wont affect his play but its a sign to start reducing the number of games he plays as otherwise more of these kinds of injuries or problems could occur.

Expect them to be all over the goalie market via potential trade, FA signing, or waiver claim

When your PP option is Jacob MacDonald, you HAVE to take a flyer on an offensive D man

No way he doesn't get claimed

I mean, I wouldn't even call their PP option Jacob MacDonald, looking at the Sharks D, I'm running 2 5 forward PP units lol

Lightning should trade for Vladar

Calgary should move him cheaply so they can give Wolf time in net. Vladar's 2x$2 mil contract can't be easily moved

How was Martin the one to get claimed of all the guys on yesterday's waiver wire? How did the Pens sneak Smith and Pitlick through??

Pitlick I can get, Ty Smith though, wow

Told yall this would happen

People go this guy 100% getting claimed then nope

Seems to be a recurring theme since the flat cap.

Good players who are waived early always seem to pass through lul. Its always either the goalies or late waiver guys who get claimed

At least we now know it's a TOR thing and not a Dubas thing when claiming guys off Waivers

Never forget

Perhaps Smith is NOT an NHL level defenseman and every team knows that

Glad Minnesota signed those 2 players today. 2 players I would be worried that Habs would overpay for in FA. Thanks MInnesota!

Lassi Thomson going on waivers. Wonder if a team like Arizona picks him up

Would be either him or Travis Dermott for the 7th defender and Soderstrom to the AHL. Kind of fitting that they get back a D from Sens because of Chychrun.

Avs could use a RD as it looks like Malinski needs more pro development and our 7th is Brad Hunt.

I’m not sure Thomson gets claimed, Smith didn’t and I feel like Thomson falls in that same vein

(Also Thomson isn’t listed as on waivers, at least by CapFriendly)

he hasn't officially been waived, that will be at 2 today,

(Won't let me show tweets) but Friedman said it, and it was announced on Sens communication Twitter

He'll be on them at 2PM today, the Sens communication twitter had it. It's always hit or miss on whether these guys get claimed. Kylington didn't get claimed, but Valimaaki did. I doubt Thomson gets picked but it could be a smart pickup

I think it comes down to the scarcity of the position Smith plays compared to Martin and how clubs value that kind of depth.

Every NHL club has a 7th defender. Smith falls into that poor #6 to good #7 range. How large of a gap is there between him and every other team's #7? What about their #6? One could have made a case that Arizona and Chicago probably should have put a claim in on Smith, but by all accounts, the Blackhawks are damned to test all internal solutions before looking outwards this year.

Most NHL teams have a #3 goaltender that they can hold some faith in should an injury occur and they need someone to man the fort for half a dozen games, but not every club. Likewise, goaltending is a very cerebral position (they're weird for a reason) and we've seen first hand with Vancouver and DiPietro what happens when a prospect gets rushed into a role they're wholly unprepared for. His career wasn't ruined per se, but he's taking the long way to breaking into the NHL full-time due to repeated rounds of shelling at the NHL level.

Having that #3 to insulate the up-and-coming prospects and build towards a long AHL playoff run is really good for prospect development.