Former Chicago Blackhawks forward and two-time Stanley Cup champion Brandon Saad was put on waivers by the St. Louis Blues last week.
Claiming him and his $4.5 million salary cap for the rest of this year and next would not be worth it. He is having a down year which leaves skepticism about his overall worth.
After clearing waivers, the Blues and Saad mutually agreed to a contract termination. He turned away from the remainder of his owed money for this season and next. Saad was more concerned with playing in the NHL rather than taking the money owed to him.
For this to work, Saad had to be put on waivers again for buyout. Of course, he cleared again which meant he was a free agent and that the Blues were cleared of his cap hit.
Almost immediately after clearing, Saad signed with the Vegas Golden Knights for $1.5 million. That’s more like it in terms of salary for his production. If he gets back to being the 20-goal scorer he was in almost every year of his career before this one, it’s a bargain.
Vegas has a knack for pulling off moves like this. Guys have gone there from tough situations before and revived their careers. He’ll fit somewhere in their bottom six.
The Golden Knights are on the East Coast for a trip (New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, and Boston Bruins) that will lead them into the Four Nations Faceoff. Saad is sure to make his debut with his new team during that time.
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