Big news far from Hershey with Bridgeport roster implications: The Islanders announced at noon that Jaroslav Halak is on waivers. That comes 13ish hours after Jack Capuano called him out for his performance in Minnesota. As Brian Compton noted last night, Capuano doesn’t drop those bombs often. The time I most remember him even singling out a player here was in 2009, an overtime puck retrieval for Brett Skinner (who saw it as more of a lost 50/50); Skinner was traded for Junior Lessard 10 days later.
It’s conceivable Halak could pass through waivers and remain up for the moment, but it seems more likely that this finally relieves the three-goalies pressure that’s been on the roster all season, whether that’s through someone claiming Halak (who’s not cheap and has a year left, but he’s still an NHL goalie… OK, maybe not), or through him clearing and being sent here. Seems likely that the most immediate use of the spot will be Adam Pelech, who’s reportedly on the trip with them, or at least a seventh defenseman in general.
With Christopher Gibson’s situation sounding dicey, Halak theoretically becomes a veteran No. 1 for Bridgeport. We’ll worry about that when it happens.
That’s all about 23 hours away, and in the meantime, Bridgeport plays at Hershey tonight. Liveblog later.