Corey Perry and Tyler Johnson were among notable NHL players placed on waivers Monday.All players on waivers can be claimed by another team until noon ET on Tuesday. They are ineligible to play Wednesday, when the 2020-21 NHL season gets underway.
Perry and Michael Frolik were each put on waivers by the Montreal Canadiens, but coach Claude Julien said he hopes the forwards will remain a key part of their plans for this season.
“We don’t have a choice. That’s related to the (NHL salary) cap,” Julien said. “We can only protect a certain [number] of players. Our cap situation now allows us to keep 21 players.”
Perry, 35, agreed to a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Canadiens on Dec. 29. He scored 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) in 57 games to help the Dallas Stars reach the Stanley Cup Final last season, won the Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 and was voted winner of the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 2010-11, when he led the NHL with 50 goals to also win the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy.
“[Perry] has been a pretty impactful player and he brings an element to our team that we kind of thought we could use,” Julien said. “So definitely, you keep your fingers crossed that he’s going to get through waivers. You control what you can and keep your fingers crossed on the things that you can’t.”
Johnson, a forward, and defenseman Luke Schenn were waived by the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Johnson is a four-time 20-goal scorer who’s played 534 regular-season NHL games, all for the Lightning.
Schenn has played 759 regular-season games for seven different teams (Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, Vancouver Canucks and Lightning).
All NHL teams must finalize rosters by Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET with Monday the final day waivers could be used toward meeting the $81.5-million NHL salary cap. Players who clear can remain on the NHL roster, be placed on the taxi squad or sent to the American Hockey League, which is scheduled to begin its season Feb. 5.
A taxi squad will have 4-6 players to help address roster issues caused by coronavirus issues. They will travel and practice with NHL teams during the season but be treated as minor-league players under the salary cap. Players who require waivers to be assigned to the AHL must clear to become part of the taxi squad. Those claimed can’t be immediately assigned to the taxi squad of the team that made the successful claim.
“As with every decision we make regarding the operation of our team, we made this decision with the objective of increasing our odds of success,” Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said. “Part of the ingredients necessary for success in the NHL is team depth. In order to have team depth, you need to properly manage your cap space.”
Here are some other notable waiver transactions from Monday:
Vancouver Canucks
Loui Eriksson was one of six players cut from Canucks camp.
The forward, who has been with Vancouver since the start of the 2016-17 season, scored 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 49 regular-season games last season. He scored no points and had 16 shots in 10 games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In 970 games with the Stars, Boston Bruins and Canucks, Eriksson has scored 593 points (250 goals, 343 assists).
Winnipeg Jets
Though Mathieu Perreault was waived by the Jets, coach Paul Maurice said it was to be cap compliant. If the forward clears, he’s projected to skate on the fourth line.
Perreault, who turned 33 Jan. 5, is in the final season of a four-year, $16.5 million contract extension he signed with Winnipeg on July 7, 2016. He’s scored 324 points (130 goals, 194 assists) in 627 NHL games for the Washington Capitals, Ducks and Jets.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Nathan Gerbe was one of seven players cut from Blue Jackets camp.
The 33-year-old forward signed a two-year, two-way contract with Columbus on Feb. 2, 2020. He’s scored 148 points (62 goals, 86 assists) in 426 NHL games for the Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres.
NHL.com columnist Dave Stubbs and independent correspondent Corey Long contributed to this report