Needing to put goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen back on the roster for Thursday night's game against the New York Islanders, the Buffalo Sabres put veteran forward Vinnie Hinostroza on waivers Wednesday.
Hinostroza doesn't have a goal this season and has eight assists in 19 games, while averaging just more than 12 minutes per game of ice time. But he has been a healthy scratch for most of the last two months, playing just four games since Dec. 1. He had 13 goals last season but was mostly unable to crack the lineup.
The Sabres were reportedly trying to work a trade in recent days but have been unsuccessful to this point. He is playing on a one-year, $1.7 million contract he signed in July.
If Hinostroza is claimed, it could mark the end of the team's daily roster shuffle with its three goaltenders. The team could use his spot to accommodate Luukkonen, Craig Anderson and Eric Comrie without having to send Luukkonen, Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka or Peyton Krebs to Rochester on paper transactions for a day.
People are also reading…
Hinostroza is a Chicago native who has had two stints with the Blackhawks and you wonder if his hometown team might be interested in putting in a claim after beating Buffalo, 4-3, in overtime Tuesday night in United Center.
Another possibility could be the Montreal Canadiens, who suddenly got thin at forward Wednesday with the announcements that No. 1 overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky (lower body) might miss the rest of the season, Jake Evans (lower body) will be out eight to 10 weeks, and Jonathan Drouin and Joel Armia (both upper body) will be out until the All-Star break.
Any waiver claim on Hinostroza would be revealed at 2 p.m. Thursday.
