Waiver Development

The Anaheim Ducks put Ilya Bryzgalov on waivers this afternoon. This was a surprise to most hockey fans and analysts and is perhaps as interesting a development in how teams will deal with players under the new CBA as the Oilers tendering of offer sheets last summer. Still young and generally well regarded, Bryzgalov is the kind of player who should have theoretically had some value. Despite efforts to trade him, however, Burke resorted to this. He stated that he was fulfilling a promise to the player to find him somewhere to play but it still seems odd to just let an asset go in a league where young, affordable players are the backbone of successful franchises. His pending unrestricted free-agency was said to be an obstacle but even that should have been easy to deal with. Sometimes these things just come out of left field and might be better understood with a little time.