Round and Round We Go

The waiver wire resembled a merry go round yesterday, as two former major junior stars were picked up by other teams through waivers, and in one case, it marked the third time he went on the waiver merry go round.

Ty Rattie and Reid Boucher had storied careers in major junior, with Rattie setting the all-time record for most playoff goals in the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks, Originally a second round pick of the St. Louis Blues, he was unable to crack the Blues lineup largely because of the depth in front of him, and his time in the Blues' system came to an end when the Carolina Hurricanes claimed him off waivers yesterday. Boucher was a 2011 fourth round pick of the New Jersey Devils who scored 62 goals in his final year with the Sarnia Sting. Like Rattie, he was unable to crack the lineup of the Devils. However, Boucher was also unable to rediscover that scoring touch, something that the Devils have been in need of since Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise last played for the Devils. Earlier in the season, Boucher was claimed on waivers by the Nashville Predators. However, his stay there didn't last long, as a month later, he was reclaimed by the Devils a day after the Predators sent him down. Of course, the Devils tried to send him down a day later, only for Vancouver to claim him off waivers.

The waiver wire has proven to be a place of considerable activity, albeit a strange one, as Jaroslav Halak was also placed on waivers a few weeks ago, only for no one to claim him and he has since played for Bridgeport of the AHL.