The Canes beat the Devils 4-2 for their first win of the season. The Carolina Hurricanes have announced that they have placed forward Brendan Lemieux on waivers today. Lemieux, 28, signed a one-year, $775,000 contract extension with the Hurricanes last season with the hopes of earning more playing time this year, but it doesn't seem like it's in the cards for the physical winger. Last season, Lemieux played in just 32 games for the Canes (with three goals, five points and 71 hits) primarily as the 13th forward. After getting injured in the pre-season, Lemieux wasn't available for the start of the regular season and the promising play of Jackson Blake immediately jumped the rookie into that available slot. If he clears waivers, Lemieux could be reassigned to the Chicago Wolves where A) his cap hit would be fully buried and B) he'd provide a physical, veteran presence for the youth. Lemieux hasn't played in the AHL since 2017-18 when he was with the Manitoba Moose and he scored 19 goals and 43 points in 51 games. Or the team could still choose to keep him on the roster as they head off on a season-long road trip. If he remains with the team, Carolina could always paper transaction him, meaning they just reassign him for a day without actually sending him to Chicago so that the team builds a little bit more cap space as it is a daily accrued thing. For now, we simply have to wait and see what will happen. Also, Joakim Ryan, who was placed on waivers yesterday, cleared and has been reassigned to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL.
