The Los Angeles Kings are done with their pre-Olympic schedule, but it looks like Colin Fraser might not get a break. The 29-year-old forward was placed on waivers today, according to CBC’s Elliotte Friedman.
There’s a couple reasons why Los Angeles might have done that. The Kings, like many teams, are close to the cap ceiling and players will continue to collect paychecks during the break. If they stash Fraser in the minors while they’re not playing anyways, it would save them a bit cap space going into the trade deadline.
That incidentally, might have also been why the trade market was awfully quiet before the Olympic break roster freeze.
This move would also provide Fraser with the opportunity to continue to play during the Olympics.
While waiver-exempt players have a lot of conditions placed on their AHL-eligibility during the break, those rules don’t apply to veterans that are subjected to waivers, as the Globe and Mail noted. Of course, the Kings are also running the risk that someone might grab Fraser. He’s a bottom-six forward, but he’s also got a fair amount of playoff experience and has won the Stanley Cup twice.
He comes with a $825,000 annual cap hit and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
