Agent: Kaspars Daugavins to go on waivers today
Kaspars Daugavins will be placed on waivers today, according to a tweet from his agent
Agent Jay Grossman announced on Twitter this morning that his client Kaspars Daugavins will be heading to waivers later today, and I'm not sure if we should be surprised or not.
A third round pick by the Senators in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Daugavins has frequently been a healthy scratch this season, playing just 19 of 33 games this season despite being with the big club all year. Recently, he's seen the pressbox even more: he's played in just 3 of the team's last 10 games. In his 19 games, he has a goal and two assists, and has mostly been deployed in a defensive role or in a comical shootout role.
Given Daugavins' one-way contract while players on two-way contracts like Dave Dziurzynski remain on the roster, (Update: Dziurzynski was assigned to Binghamton today), it seems like this is not a move to send Daugavins to the American Hockey League. Likely, the Senators are either freeing up a roster spot before the trade deadline or Daugavins has quietly asked to be placed on waivers so that he can try out with a new NHL team in hopes that he can get another one-way deal next season.
In his two seasons with the big club, Daugavins has been more notable for his character than for his play. He's a solid penalty killer and defensive player, but players like Erik Condra and Jim O'Brien add more speed and offensive upside in the same role. That being said, Daugavins has been a great presence on the team. He was a leader on the Binghamton Senators when they won the Calder Cup, and he seems to be a favourite of his teammates -- everyone had his back when he was getting criticized for his unique shootout move, and it's hard to forget the entire team losing their minds when he got his first NHL goal last season. If this is the last we see of Daugavins in a Senators uniform, the team and its fans may not miss him on the scoresheet, but they'll certainly still miss his presence.