The Arizona Coyotes have placed Drake Caggiula on waivers according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. He has played just once since March 27, receiving fewer than 10 minutes of ice time in Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings.
It wasn’t so long ago that Caggiula was proving to be a capable bottom-six scoring threat, able to manufacture even-strength offense in limited minutes. Over the first four seasons of his career, he recorded 41 goals in 222 games, an 82-game pace of 15 despite averaging just 13 minutes of ice time a night. For a player that was seemingly never outworked and played with a physical edge, those numbers were more than good enough.
Unfortunately, that offense has dried up completely this season, with Caggiula scoring just a single goal in 27 games for the Coyotes. His possession numbers have fallen off a cliff in the desert and despite still managing 49 hits on the year, hasn’t been the energy machine he had in years past.
Still, with an expiring $700K contract, perhaps someone feels that Caggiula can be a valuable depth add just ahead of the deadline. He does have 249 games of NHL experience, not something often found so cheaply on the waiver wire.
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