Ottawa Senators Place Artem Anisimov on Waivers
The 32 year-old has not played since March 10th.
The Ottawa Senators have placed 32 year-old centre Artem Anisimov on waivers.
The #Sens placed centre Artem Anisimov on waivers at noon today.
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) March 29, 2021
The decision comes a day after Anisimov returned to practice with the team, having been out of action since March 10th’s 7-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. He had been placed on injured reserve last Monday, March 22nd.
In 14 games with the Senators this season, Anisimov has tallied two goals and two assists for four points, to go with a Corsi rating of 45.16%, and xG% of 43.22% in a mainly fourth-line role.
Anisimov was previously waived by the Senators on February 11th.
Since arriving in Ottawa via trade that sent Zack Smith to the Chicago Blackhawks in his place in the fall of 2019, the Russian veteran has posted 17 goals and seven assists through 63 games with the Senators. Over the course of his career with the New York Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Blackhawks, and Senators, Anisimov has tallied 371 points in 766 games.
With a cap hit of $4.5M, it seems likely that Anisimov will clear waivers once again. What happens next is anyone’s guess. DJ Smith doesn’t seem to have much appetite to get him in the lineup, given how well newcomer Clark Bishop has performed on the fourth line with Ryan Dzingel and Alex Formenton.
The other 30 NHL teams have until noon tomorrow to claim Anisimov. The Sens, meanwhile, have another few days off, before returning to action against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.