Cheechoo, Kotalik Among Five Players Placed On Waivers

 

The waiver wire saw some activity this afternoon as a reported five players were placed on it, according to TSN. Among those players are Johnathan Cheechoo of the Ottawa Senators, who was part of the Dany Heatley trade with San Jose, and Ales Kotalik of the Calgary Flames, who was acquired by the team in an early February trade with the New York Rangers. Petteri Nokelainen and Jim Vadermeer of the Phoenix Coyotes and Florida Panthers defenseman Ville Koistinen were also placed on waivers.

TSN mentions that if these players were to go unclaimed through the waiver process, it is likely that their respective organizations will buy them out and will therefore enter them into unrestricted free agency.

Cheechoo is entering the final year of a five-year contract that will pay him $3.5 million next season (and count as a cap hit of $3 million.) After posting a career-high and Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy-earning 56 goals back in 2005-06 thanks to be paired with Joe Thornton, Cheechoo has steadily declined over the past four years. A year with just 12 goals and 17 assists in 2008-09 made it an easy decision for San Jose to include him and his salary as part of the trade that brought in Heatley. In 61 games with Ottawa last season, Cheechoo only posted five goals and nine assists for 14 points. He also spent 25 games in the AHL with Binghamton, scoring eight goals with six assists for 14 points.

Cheechoo's time as a hot commodity in the NHL faded almost as quickly as it began, and he is no longer considered a top-six forward. At $3.5 million, it would be hard to justify picking the 29-year old up off waivers. But as an unrestricted free agent, it could be worth taking a flier on him at a price tag of $1 to 1.25 million is he is willing to take a sharp pay cut like that. A buyout would cost the Senators about $1.167 million over each of the next two years.

Kotalik is the other top name on this list. The 31-year old has two years remaining on his contract at a rate of $3 million per season. That contract was the product of unrestricted free agency last summer, when Kotalik was signed by the Rangers to be a big offensive contributor, especially on the power play. But he failed to meet expectations with just eight goals - half of which were on the man advantage - and 22 points through 45 games. He was packaged with another disappointment, Christopher Higgins, to the Flames for Olli Jokinen, who also failed to meet the hype during this time on Broadway. Calgary was one of three teams that Kotalik was adament about not being traded to, but was soon convinced to accept the move and waive his limited no-trade clause for the deal. His lack of desire to play with the Flames showed. In 26 games, he scored just three times and registed just one of his goals on the power play.

If he goes unclaimed, Kotalik will count as a $1 million cap hit to the Flames over each of the next four years. It would be unwise for any team to pay him $3 million a year. But Kotalik still has some juice left in the tank and could unleash it for a team he is eager to play for and that doesn't have the spotlight shine down on him so hotly like in New York. He's worth taking the risk over if the price is right, much more so than Cheechoo, because his shot is still one of the best in the game.

Nokelainen, 24, was acquired by the Coyotes in a deadline deal with Anaheim for a sixth round pick. He posted just one goal and shorthanded assist in 17 games with Phoenix, following an 11-point effort in 50 games with the Ducks. As a third or fourth liner who spends time on the penalty kill, Nokelainen could be a nice pickup for a team at just $950,000 next season. If a team does not bite, though, he will count as a $316,667 cap hit to the Coyotes in each of the next two years.

Vandermeer, 30, has one year remaining on his contract at $2.3 million and would therefore cost Phoenix  $766,667 per year over the next two. A seven-year veteran, the defenseman has played for four different teams and developed into a physical presence with good stay-at-home ability and the knack for putting up some points here and there. A price tag of $2.3 million could be a bit too rich for a lot of teams' blood, but he will have little problem finding a home via free agency.

Koistinen, 27, is not exactly a mainstay in the NHL at this point and still has a lot of proving to do at that level. He suited up for just 17 games with the Panthers last season. But he is a good puck mover with potential on the powerplay and could be a good seventh defenseman for a team in need of some extra offense from the blue line. He makes $1.4 million next year and would count as a $466,667 cap hit to the Panthers in each of the next two years if bought out.