Brandon Pirri headed to waivers after a slow start to the season.

It appears as though the slow start to the 2019 - 2020 National Hockey League regular season experienced by NHL veteran Brandon Pirri has finally caught up to him.

On Saturday Sportsnet's NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that the Las Vegas Golden Knights had made the decision to place the 28 year old center on waivers, this after Pirri had seemingly become a fixture in the press box for the Golden Knights. Pirri had thus far appeared in only 11 games for the Golden Knights this season and it now appears as though the Golden Knights feel that they would be better suited with Pirri at the American Hockey League level where his cap hit would be significantly reduced. The move is somewhat surprising given that Pirri is a proven goalscorer at the NHL level, and this has led to many believing that he may be claimed before the Golden Knights get an opportunity to send him down.

That being said there is no question that Pirri has gotten off to a poor start this season and it is that level of inconsistency that has resulted in the veteran forward being placed on waivers by other organizations in the past. Pirri appeared in just 11 games for the Golden Knights this season and over those 11 games he failed to register a single goal, adding just one assist and boasting a plus minus rating of -3 on the season. Some have been quick to defend Pirri by pointing out that the players he was paired with were dragging down his overall numbers but Pirri himself has been inconsistent throughout his career. 

That being said he did have a good year last season with 31 games as a Golden Knights in which he picked up 12 goals and 6 assists for a total of 18 points and in that season he finished with a plus minus rating of +7. His numbers in the American Hockey League with the Chicago Wolves were also strong with Pirri collecting 18 goals and 24 assists for 42 points in just 29 AHL games. Pirri has always had the talent to be an NHL player but for whatever reason has failed to deliver on that talent on a consistent basis, but I would not be the least bit surprised to see him claimed before the waiver process has been completed tomorrow. 

Pirri currently is earning just slighting above the league minimum at $775,000 in both average annual value and actually money, and he has 1 more year left on his deal after this one.