New Possibilities for the Waiver Draft

We're only a couple of weeks away before we kick off the last Waiver Draft of the year and the stretch run is almost upon us.  The teams that are still in it can possibly make a move or two to help their cause or possibly cost them the pool... how fun is that?

There are a couple of new names that have jumped back into the fray in the last couple of weeks, which might perk up the ears of some possible suitors in the hockey pool.

The Washington Capitals have taken a flyer on forward Mike Richards, signing the troubled-forward to a new 1-year deal to finish off the season.  Richards, who has been a hockey pool staple over the last handful of years, has seen his ups and downs, and now with Washington, he has a chance to go back up.  Richards has already played a couple of games with the Capitals, no points and 2 PIM thus far.

How about Zack Kassian?  He's been given a new lease on his NHL life by the Edmonton Oilers, who acquired him in a deal with the Montreal Canadiens, after they wiped their hands clean of another troubled soul.  Kassian was called up by the Oilers this past week, playing in a couple of games as well, no points and 4 PIM.

In that deal for Kassian, in the other direction went Ben Scrivens, who was originally taken in the draft by Cindy, but dropped to the depths of the minors and thus dropped in Week Nine.  The reports out of Montreal suggest that Carey Price might be ready to return after the All-Star break, but that hasn't exactly been confirmed and the longer he stays out, the longer Scrivens stays up.  How's that for a wild gamble?

Oh yes!  Let's not forget about everyone's favourite dirty little player, Raffi Torres.  The San Jose Sharks have given him the green light to get back into the league, as he is currently on his conditioning loan in the minors, there is little doubt that the will be primed and ready to run over some guys and possibly pot a few points here and there.  I am starting to think that this is becoming more about the penalty minutes than the scoring in this post.

Okay, how about a scoring forward... a rookie scoring forward.  The Nashville Predators have been desperate to find some scoring in their lineup and they had recently recalled rookie Kevin Fiala from the minors, rewarding him with some ice-time with the big club, since he was doing so well in the AHL this year.  In two games already this year, he has 1 goal, which is a start, right?  With a couple more weeks until the draft, you can keep your eye on him.

I just wanted to throw a few names out there, maybe bait a few hooks, see who's paying attention to the blog these days.  Maybe we can find some hidden gems in the available players pool... just saying.