Three Players Surprisingly Placed on Waivers Today, Including One for Contract Termination
Waivers in the NHL haven't brought many surprises as of late, but on Friday, Kailer Yamamoto led a surprising group that includes a Minnesota Wild prospect.
This season has been all about the Minnesota Wild, as they've posted an impressive 5-0-2 record through seven games, putting them right in the mix early in the season in the Stanley Cup Playoffs hunt. On Friday, they've made the surprise move of placing a young forward on waivers for the purpose of contract termination.
22-year old Pavel Novak was a fifth round pick of the Wild back in 2020, and while he has shown promise thus far, he just hasn't been able to deliver, playing just 13 games with the AHL's Iowa Wild in the last two years. It's unclear at this point if anything behind the scenes has happened or if they simply wanted to move on from him, but for now it's definitely a surprise move.
Beyond that, we saw the Utah Hockey Club also utilize waivers on Friday, as the team made the official announcement that 26-year old forward Kailer Yamamoto will also be placed on waivers.
After a solid run to begin his career in Edmonton, Yamamoto simply hasn't caught on since leaving, with the forward tallying just 8 goals and 16 points in 59 games with the Seattle Kraken a season ago. In three games this season with Utah he has officially gone scoreless, and while there's still potential there, it appears he is struggling to make an impact.
Given that Yamamoto drew interest as a free agent this summer, there's a possibility that he could be claimed on waivers, but after failing to perform, Utah HC appear confident that he can remain a depth piece in the AHL for the remainder of the season.
Finally there was 26-year old Riley Tufte who was waived by the Boston Bruins, after the winger failed to score in two games played this season. The former first-round pick of the Dallas Stars has played in 20 NHL games over his career, recording just two goals and three points in that time, and while he still has time to turn it around, this is just another indicator that he may never become an NHL regular.
