Vancouver Canucks Waive Andrey Pedan and 3 Others
The Vancouver Canucks placed four players on waivers today, with the intention to send them to the AHL Utica Comets.
Several players would have to go through waivers for the Vancouver Canucks to reduce their roster to 23 players. We knew that all along. The four players on waivers today are forwards Mike Zalewski, Michael Chaput, Jayson Megna, and defenseman Andrey Pedan. While the first three come as no surprise, the Pedan move certainly does.
Assuming that rookie Troy Stecher joins the AHL Utica Comets, the decision would have to be made between Pedan, Alex Biega and Nikita Tryamkin. Since Tryamkin has a European assignment clause and the Canucks would probably prefer to keep him in North America, no one expected the club to move him. Between Pedan and Biega, the latter seemed to make more sense, since Pedan seems to have the higher upside.
So what is it that led the Canucks brass to this decision?
There was a lot of speculation on social media once the intention to waive Pedan leaked. Rumour has it that Vancouver’s management believes teams might want to grab Biega off waivers for the sole purpose of exposing him in the 2017 expansion draft. While Pedan will automatically be protected, Biega will be eligible for exposure.
Canucks fans, however, look at it differently. For most, this is the Frank Corrado story all over again.
Pedan is a young defenseman, just 23 years old, and the Canucks don’t really know what they have in him. In our The Canuck Way top-10 prospect rankings, Pedan was an honourable mention as No. 11. His 13 NHL games last season were promising enough to think some team could take a chance at him — he’s up for free, after all.
If Pedan goes unclaimed, it’s all good. A 28-year-old depth player (Biega) is a better healthy scratch than a 23-year-old prospect. Pedan could develop getting big minutes in Utica and everything would be fine.
Yet, the risk of losing Pedan seems too big to make this move. Losing Biega wouldn’t be as bad as losing a young asset.
So, let’s just hope Pedan clears and the Canucks made the right call. It’s all we can do.
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