Nikita Soshnikov placed on waivers

The New York Islanders have placed forward Nikita Soshnikov on waivers.

The 29 year old Russian winger is on a one year, NHL minimum contract worth $750,000, meaning that he'll be a cheap pick up for anyone interested in his services.

He has played just three games for the Isles this season, going pointless along with a -2 plus/minus rating.

His best season in the NHL came with the Toronto Maple Leafs back in 2016-17 when he put up five goals and nine points in 56 games. In total he has eight goals and 16 points in 90 NHL games split between the Leafs, Islanders and St. Louis Blues.

If he clears waivers it's expected that he'll report to the Islanders' AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers. It's worth noting however that he played the three seasons in the KHL before signing with the Islanders this past offseason and I wonder if he might bolt back to Russia if he's demoted down to the AHL.

It's also worth noting that he bounced around the KHL the past three seasons, playing for three teams in three seasons. For whatever reason it seems like this guy just can't stick with any one club for a sustained period of time. To me, that screams "Coach's Nightmare" but I'm obviously just speculating wildly here. The fact of the matter is that Soshnikov has some real NHL level skill, particularly a hard accurate shot, but for whatever reason he's not been able to gain the trust of his coaches wherever he has been throughout the course of his professional career.

As for the Islanders, I don't think they'll miss Soshnikov too much if he does get claimed. Tough guys Matt Martin, Ross Johnson and Cal Clutterbuck have all been holding down spots in the bottom six, where Soshnikov was playing. From top to bottom the Islanders' forward lines are pretty deep, if not spectacular. Sure you have Mathew Barzal on the top line, but even he has struggled to put up points this season. In fact, he has zero goals in 17 games this season... but he does have 18 assists, so at least he's contributing.