Breaking: Shocking activity on the waiver wire today!

The National Hockey League regular season will soon be underway and teams are trying their hardest to get their final roster together in time for the season opener, meaning several clubs are using the waiver wire to free up some cap space before making final decisions. Many were shocked on Tuesday to find out that the Ottawa Senators waived veteran forward Zack Smith for the purposes of assigning him to the American Hockey League. 

The 30-year-old forward is the Sens’ longest serving player, having played 542 games in a Senators' uniform and scoring 85 goals and 165 points along the way. He himself admitted to being shocked of the team's decision to place him on the waiver wire. 

“It caught me off guard and it caught Zack off guard,” his St. Louis-based agent Allain Roy of RSG Hockey told Postmedia Tuesday afternoon. “It’s the timing more than anything else but teams have gotten more strategic about timing for waivers and I assume that Pierre thought this was the right time to put him on waivers.

“I’m not sure. I’ve seen teams use this time of year to put guys on waivers hoping they’re going to clear because everybody has pretty full rosters.”

On Wednesday, more shocking news took place in the NHL as none of the players cleared waivers, including Smith. 

Many expected not only Smith to be claimed off waivers, but some pundits also believed there was a chance that forward Michael McCarron, who landed on the waiver wire yesterday after the Montreal Canadiens placed him there, would be claimed as well. Five Habs players, including McCarron, cleared waivers and will report to the Laval Rocket of the AHL. 

As for Smith, it remains to be seen if he will head to Belleville to join the Sens' farm club there. NHL insider Darren Dreger believes he could end up staying with the club after all, especially after his teammates' reactions went viral on Tuesday. Some of his teammates were shocked about the news; Matt Duchene had the best line of the day saying this about his teammate being place on the waiver wire: “I’ll be honest, it’s a kick in the balls for us."

UPDATE: Smith will play tomorrow against the Chicago Blackhawks, according to head coach Guy Boucher. 

Other players hit the waiver wire on Wednesday

Several other players were placed on waivers on Wednesday at noon. The Calgary Flames placed five players on the wire today: Kerby Rychel, Charles Robinson, Alan Quine, Morgan Klimchuck and Tyler Graovac. 

The Anaheim Ducks also placed several players on the waiver wire, waiving six in total. Here is a list of all players who ended up on the wire at noon on Wednesday.