Newly traded defenseman lands on waivers to have contract terminated

This has to be disappointed news for the young defenseman... 

Simon Bourque did not manage to convince the Winnipeg Jets he could add depth to their roster and blue liner. The 21-year-old blue liner has been placed on unconditional waivers by the Jets on Friday for the purpose of contract termination.

Bourque was included in a contract shedding trade made by the Jets during the summer, however he had to compete with several promising prospects on the back that the Jets can count on from their minor club, including Sami Niku and Tucker Poolman. He was part of the package sent by the Montreal Canadiens, who landed forward Joel Armia this offseason. The Habs also received goalie Steve Mason, a seventh round pick in the 2019 draft and a fourth round pick in the 2020 draft. The Jets were desperately trying to shed salary this summer. 

It appears now that Bourque has become expendable and his statistics from last season support that choice made by the Jets: he only manage to record a mere three assists in a total of 46 games in the American Hockey League. It could be hard for him to land a job in the NHL at this point. 

On Tuesday, Bourque had been reassigned from the AHL's Manitoba Moose to the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen as they got down to the league mandated 23-man limit.

We will have to wait and see if Bourque can find a taker in the NHL before tomorrow to continue in the big league this season. 

Another player was placed on waivers on Friday, as the Philadelphia Flyers sent goaltender Anthony Stolarz on the regular waiver wire. 

The Flyers are loaded in between the pipes, which surely explains today's transaction. One thing has become clear for the Flyers: they do not want to be caught like last spring, when they had to make a quick move for Detroit Red Wings' Petz Mrazek at the trade deadline because their goalies were injured. They have intense goaltending depth, especially after they claimed Calvin Pickard off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. 

Generally speaking, Pickard has a good reputation as an NHL backup and the Flyers can count on one of the most promising goalies not playing in the NHL in Carter Hart. For now, the kid remains a starter in the AHL, but the Flyers might want to give him a shot as a NHL backup sooner rather than later...