Defenseman Sami Vatanen was placed on waivers by the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. By late Monday morning he’d found a new home with the Dallas Stars. Meanwhile, the Ottawa Senators have claimed defenseman Victor Mete from the Montreal Canadiens.
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The claim of Vatanen will certainly add to speculation that a Jamie Oleksiak trade could be on the horizon, even despite reports that Dallas is looking to keep the team together. The Stars now have eight defensemen on the NHL roster, but that includes Andrej Sekera, who suffered an injury last night.
Dallas will need to cover the remainder of Vatanen’s $2 million salary through the end of the season and while that isn’t a lot of money and he is a reliable two-way option, Vatanen only has six points in 30 games. He’s playing the fewest minutes of his NHL career.
Mete has played a very limited role with the Canadiens this season and there was talk the Habs didn’t want to move him or risk losing him. Suiting up in just 14 games this season, picking up three assists while averaging a career-low 14:09 per game. This will be a much better opportunity for the defenseman.
More to come…
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