When we found out yesterday that Martin Frk had been claimed by the Carolina Hurricanes, we figured that closed the door on the races for roster spots, but today the Red Wings have placed another right-shooting potential goal-scorer on waivers trying to sneak him through after he couldn’t win a spot.
DET puts Teemu Pulkkinen on waivers.
MTL puts Mike Condon on waivers— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) October 10, 2016
The 24-year old former AHL goal-scoring leader makes only $812,500 this season, but is also coming off shoulder surgery four months ago. His rehab was supposed to take between 4-6 months, but he recovered on the faster timeline.
Putting Pulkkinen on waivers on the very last day is as strong as the Wings can get in trying to make sure he’s not claimed, because teams are supposed to have the very hardest decisions to make, but with the guy making basically no cap dollars, I can’t see how he sneaks through 29 teams, especially considering Martin Frk had three claims against him.
While this does open the door for ether Anthony Mantha or Andreas Athanasiou to be the 13th forward, it seems an odd move from the Red Wings to simply punt Pulkkinen away.
