Noon Camp Demotions (Sep 25)

On Sunday, the Ottawa Senators coaching staff suggested that they would likely be starting the season with 22 players on their roster, as if they were in cap troubles, but they certainly are not. Nevertheless, they were still going to be making some tough cuts and on Tuesday, forward Zack Smith was placed on waivers, likely for the purpose of assignment or possibly, to help move out of town, making way for some more youth.

The 30-year old forward picked up 19 points in 68 games and is considered a fringe player with those numbers, but the Hockey News did project him for a 31-point season, good enough for a real deep draft.

Smith currently carries a $3.25 million cap hit per season, which might be a touch on the high side, but still a manageable number for a team that would want to claim him.  If the Senators see him clear waivers, they will only save about $1.025 million in cap space with him buried in the minors.

Maybe less of a shock, but possibly an important note, was that Byron Froese was also placed on waivers by the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. He was on my projected roster for the start of the season, but his demotion is likely opening up the door for their top prospect, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, to join the fold to start the season, at the very least.  With Montreal's struggles down the middle and the immediate impact of the 18-year old in the preseason is adding up to the 9-game audition to start the season and it has the possibility of the full season as well.

Froese only had 11 points in 48 games last season and wasn't even really considered much of a fringe player, but the roster spot opening up will likely carry some value.