Two players were placed on waivers in the NHL on Wednesday — Brett Connolly of the Chicago Blackhawks and Sami Niku of the Montreal Canadiens.
Connolly has appeared in just four games for the Blackhawks during the 2021-22 season and he hasn’t registered a point. He was suspended for four games back in December for a hit to the head of Dallas Stars forward Tanner Kero.
The Blackhawks acquired Connolly ahead of the 2021 trade deadline as a salary cap dump from the Florida Panthers. Florida sent Chicago a pair of prospects, Riley Stillman and Henrik Borgstrom, in order to dump the entirety of his $3.5 million cap hit.
If Connolly clears through waivers, the Blackhawks will save $1.125 million against the salary cap with him as a buried contract. Connolly’s four-year, $14 million contract is set to expire at the end of the season.
The other player on waivers is Canadiens defender Sami Niku.
The Habs inked Niku to a one-year contract worth $750K back in September after the 25-year-old defender and the Winnipeg Jets mutually agreed to terminate his contract. Through 13 games with the Canadiens, Niku has six points and is averaging 15:17 per night.
Niku will not cost the Habs anything against the salary cap if he clears through waivers.
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