Avalanche claim Mike Reilly off waivers from Hurricanes

Reilly was put on waivers on Saturday, as the Hurricanes needed to make room for captain Jordan Staal, who was returning to the lineup after being activated from injured reserve.

The 33-year-old has only been in the lineup sparingly since the puck dropped on the new campaign. Reilly has appeared in just eight games thus far, last appearance in the lineup on Oct. 18 in a loss to the Calgary Flames. He has yet to find the back of the net, but has registered two assists, a plus/minus of +4, while averaging 12:26 of ice time. It comes after he played 42 games for Carolina last season, including twice in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as the Canes went on to win the franchise’s second championship.

The Chicago native was chosen by the Avs has they have a noticeable hole on the blue line. The team announced on Saturday that star rearguard Cale Makar will be out a couple of weeks due to a lower-body injury suffered in a game against the Ottawa Senators last Thursday. Reilly might not have nearly the same level of talent that Makar has, but he can hold his own for the duration of the former’s injury.

In 468 regular-season games in the NHL, Reilly has scored 19 goals and 116 assists for 135 points, including eight points in 23 postseason contests. He’s on a one-year, two-way contract that he signed in September. The deal carries an NHL cap hit of $850,000 and a minor-league salary of $450,000.

There was one other player put on waivers on Saturday, as New York Islanders forward Kyle MacLean hit the wire. He cleared on Sunday and can now be assigned to the Islanders’ primary affiliate, the Hamilton Hammers.