Kyle Dubas places 1000+ game NHL veteran on waivers

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Josh tupper
February 14, 2023 (2:16 PM)

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With the NHL Trade Deadline scheduled for March 3rd, teams have begun to rearrange pieces on their team to try and maximize cap space and roster spaces. This can lead to some interesting roster moves and cause teams to waive players they don't necessarily want to waive. Today the Toronto Maple Leafs made the decision to place 1,032 game NHL veteran Wayne Simmonds on waivers.

Placed on NHL waivers today: Wayne Simmonds (TOR).

If Wayne Simmonds clears tomorrow, he'll be waiver-exempt through the March 3 trade deadline. That means the #leafs will be able to move him back and forth to the AHL, as needed, while optimizing their salary cap position for deadline acquisitions

This is the 3rd time the Leafs have placed Simmonds on waivers this season. So far no team has taken a flyer on Simmonds and it is expected that Simmonds will clear through waivers once again. If a team does decided to grab Simmonds it would strip the Maple Leafs of the last remaining pieces of grit they have remaining in their lineup.

In his career Simmonds has 263 goals and 262 assists, and has accumulated 1298 career penalty minutes. According to Elliotte Friedman this is likely just a paper transaction, that will help the Maple Leafs keep their roster size under 23 players, but they have no intention of sending Simmonds to the Marlies.

Simmonds (TOR) on waivers. I believe this is a paper transaction