Anaheim Ducks Lose Chris Wagner To Waiver Claim

Business decisions are made every single day in the world of sports, no general manager evades making tough roster decisions. Yesterday, Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray made a decision that yielded the result he was hoping to avoid.

Murray placed Chris Wagner on waivers and the Colorado Avalanche swooped in to make a claim.

First things first, why did Murray have to place Wagner on waivers?

If you go back to earlier this season, Wagner was placed on waivers due to his signing age and other reasons that are further explained in the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement. Since clearing waivers the first time, Wagner has played in more than 10 NHL games, making him again eligible for waivers.

The first question you might be asking is why did Murray let Wagner get to 10 games played?

Injuries Role

Well Murray did not do that out of choice. The Ducks forward group has gone through a number of injuries thus far, the decision to play Wagner in 11 NHL games is not directly related to the status of Nate Thompson alone.

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Ryan Getzlaf missed time with his appendectomy. Rickard Rakell missed time with an upper-body injury. Jiri Sekac remains out with a high ankle sprain as well and Thompson is still 2-3 weeks away from returning.

Wagner was important to the Ducks during the time of these injuries. The decision to use Wagner as opposed to another prospect was due to the Ducks struggles as Wagners value was high due to his ability to play center or on the wing.

Wagner was the best option and Bob Murray knew his team needed wins during their slow start to the season and that is how the decision was made to use Wagner despite the threat of waiver eligibility striking again.

Other Prospects Role

Another part of this is the recall of Nick Ritchie and Michael Sgarbossa that came yesterday. You might be asking why Murray did not recall one of these two and send Wagner down to the AHL before he hit the 10 NHL games mark that made him waiver eligible again.

Well, Sgarbossa is also waiver eligible. He cleared waivers earlier this season but 30 days have passed since, making him again eligible.

There was also no decision made on Nick Ritchie yet. If Ritchie plays less than 10 NHL games this season, he will be eligible to have his contract slide by one year. If he surpasses 10 games with the Ducks this season, that slide eligibility obviously vanishes.

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You might also remember that Max Friberg was placed on waivers earlier this season. He cleared and was in the same situation as Wagner, hitting 10 NHL games played meant he would again have to go through waivers before being reassigned.

He hit the 5 game mark and was sent down when Ritchie and Sgarbossa were recalled yesterday, so he did not have to clear waivers.

Again, the usage of Wagner over Friberg came from injuries to Thompson, Getzlaf and Rakell. The Ducks had depth issues up the middle and Wagner was needed to fill a void.

So keeping Wagner with the Ducks was not a decision that was based off of his play alone, the eligibility and contract situations of other prospects, such as Sgarbossa, Friberg and Ritchie, made things more complicated.

A lot of people have praised the play of Wagner and rightfully so. Why now is Wagner’s use in more than 10 NHL games being questioned? He was the Ducks best option during a time when they desperately needed points.

The $$$ Side Of Things

Chris Wagner will be in need of a new contract this offseason, he is one of the Ducks many upcoming free agents.

The others include, Lindholm, Andersen, Vatanen, Rakell, Sekac, Sgarbossa and Noesen. All are set to hit restricted free agency. The offer sheet threat is real and it is not even known if Murray would have been able to work out a new deal with Wagner if he did remain a member of the Ducks until seasons end.

Another interesting note is that Wagner is eligible to become a group 6 unrestricted free agent if he does not surpass 72 career NHL games by seasons end. He needs 50 more NHL games this season to keep his RFA status come July 1, 2016.

It was extremely unlikely that Wagner was going to play 50 more games with the Ducks this season and he would have likely become a UFA, making things a little more hectic.

This doesn’t change the big picture, but it certainly adds another factor into the decision of using Wagner in 11 games this season and placing him on waivers.

So Why Question Murray?

A lot of people have been questioning Bob Murray lately and the Wagner news has not cooled things down by any means.

However, Bob Murray does not deserve this criticism.