Adam Gaudette placed on waivers after just 15 games.

The Chicago Blackhawks have just made an eyebrow raising move, one that many armchair pundits online appear to believe will cost the team in short order.

First, let's get to the news. According to National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman, former Hobey Baker Award winner Adam Gaudette has been placed on waivers today. Gaudette is currently under contract with the Chicago Blackhawks and has appeared in 8 games for them this season, but he is now eligible to be claimed by any other team in the league based on their current waiver priority.

Gaudette was originally drafted in the 5th round (149th overall) of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, and most of his NHL experience came with that team. Gaudette spent 153 games as a member of the Canucks and recorded 18 goals and 31 assists for a combined 49 goals with that franchise.

Gaudette was subsequently traded by the Canucks to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for veteran forward Matthew Highmore, but has played very little since the trade. Immediately following the trade Gaudette appeared in just 7 games for the Blackhawks, recording a goal and 3 assists for 4 points, and this season saw him get just 8 games where he recorded a goal and an assist for 2 points over that stretch.

One of the big knocks against Gaudette at the NHL level has been his relative lack of size when compared to his peers. Last fall however it was revealed that he had been diagnosed with candidiasis, a type of infection that had impacted his appetite and by extension his ability to put on more weight. There is some hope that he will be more successful when it comes to bulking up following the diagnosis, but this appears to be an indication that the Blackhawks don't believe the chances of that are particularly high.

Gaudette was also infamously involved in large Covid outbreak that happened in the Vancouver Canucks locker room earlier in the year, with many pointing the finger at both him and his girlfriend as the source of that particular outbreak.  For that reason I suspect the Canucks won't be looking to pick him up, but don't be surprised if another team in the league decides they want to add depth forward.