Boston Bruins: John Moore and Chris Wagner placed on waivers

We now have a better understanding of what the Boston Bruins‘ lineup will look like for the start of the regular season. The B’s have placed defenseman John Moore and forward Chris Wagner on waivers.

Moore did not look too bad during the preseason. In fact, for a player who just had hip surgery and missed a significant amount of time, he did fairly well. In the Bruins’ first preseason tilt against the Philadelphia Flyers, he had two assists. It seemed possible that he could have remained on the team as a depth defenseman. Yet, it seems like Jakub Zboril and Urho Vaakanainen will hold that for now. There’s always the chance that Vaakanianen gets sent down to Providence before the start of the season, though.

Heading into the preseason, it also seemed likely that Wagner was going to lose his spot on the fourth line. The team signed Tomas Nosek as the line’s new center, which made Curtis Lazar transitioning to the right wing very likely. Although Lazar now is out for the next few weeks, it appears that Karson Kuhlman is officially ahead of Wagner on the depth chart now. In fact, The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa’s report on the Bruins’ lines this week showed that as well. Furthermore, Anton Blidh also seems like he has a chance to stick with the team as a depth forward. Jack Studnicka will likely be heading to Providence to play first line minutes.

Could either player get claimed?

Although Moore showed signs of improvement during the preseason, his $2.75 million cap hit over the next two seasons makes it extremely unlikely that he will be claimed. Furthermore, he was limited to just five games last season due to his injury. During the previous season, he only played 24 as well. Therefore, his cost, term and injury troubles all make it far too risky for another team to take him on. If he had a cheaper contract, perhaps things would be different.

Wagner, on the hand, could end up sporting a different jersey after this. It certainly is not definite, but his $1.35 million cap hit is affordable. Furthermore, he also is a proven fourth-liner who does play a physical game. He is coming off of a down year, though, as he had just two goals and five points in 41 games last season. However, during the 2018-19 season, he did score 12 goals and have 19 points in 76 games. Thus, he has provided decent depth scoring in the past, so it wouldn’t be that surprising to see him claimed. However, his struggles last season make the opposite very likely, too.

If both players end up clearing waivers, it will also not be shocking to see them eventually called up during the regular season. Both have a lot of overall NHL experience and are still capable of playing the game’s highest level. Injuries will inevitably occur during the season as well. We are back to a full 82-game schedule and coming off of a shorter off-season as well.

We will now have to wait and see if either of these two will be off the team come tomorrow.