In advance of Friday’s trade deadline, the Calgary Flames have placed defenceman Jordan Oesterle on waivers, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.
The 31-year-old Oesterle is a left shot defender. He’s on a one-year deal with the Flames worth $925,000. He’s largely been a spectator this season, as he’s played 22 NHL games (with two points) and 12 AHL games with the Wranglers (with eight points). In 371 NHL games with Edmonton, Arizona, Detroit and Calgary, Oesterle has 19 goals and 86 points.
Oesterle was waived and cleared back on Nov. 5 before being sent to the AHL. He was brought back up on Nov. 29 and since then he’s been on the NHL roster long enough that he requires waivers again. He’s currently one of eight defencemen on the Flames’ roster, along with MacKenzie Weegar, Rasmus Andersson, Brayden Pachal, Oliver Kylington, Dennis Gilbert, Joel Hanley and the newly-acquired Daniil Miromanov. It might not make sense to have eight blueliners on the roster going forward, so waiving Oesterle would give the Flames a bit of roster flexibility.
Presuming Oesterle clears, that would give the Flames four players that could potentially be assigned down to the AHL prior to the trade deadline in order to keep them eligible to play in the AHL’s post-season. In addition to Oesterle, Jakob Pelletier and Matt Coronato are waiver exempt entirely this season, while Walker Duehr has exemption time left after clearing waivers back mid-January.
The Flames kick off a three game eastern road trip on Thursday evening in Tampa Bay.
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