Islanders Ross Johnston Claimed By Ducks, Waiting Game Mysteries

Stefen Rosner Discusses Salary Cap Situation on Hockey Night in New York On Monday afternoon, the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/players/new-york-islanders-practice-four-days-julien-gauthier-johnston-holmstrom] elected to place Ross Johnston [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/news/ross-johnston-new-york-islanders-waivers-deadline-2] on waivers. The Anaheim Ducks scooped the 29-year-old forward up as the Islanders can now recall Simon Holmstrom [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/news/simon-holmstrom-new-york-islanders-roster-deadline-monday-5-pm-ross-johnston-2] while still remaining under the salary cap. Johnston has three more years left on the four-year worth $4.4 million ($1.1 million AAV), which he signed ahead of the 2021-22 season. Once Holmstrom gets recalled, the Islanders will be $524,667 under the cap. Johnston gets reunited with former Bridgeport Islanders head coach Brent Thompson as the newest Duck played 139 games for the Islanders AHL affiliate. While on Long Island, Johnston laced up the skates for 134 games, scoring nine goals with 15 assists for 24 points since his call-up in 2016. His primary role came from his physicality, as the six-foot-five, 234-pound forward has racked up 355 hits and participated in 21 fights throughout his entire NHL career, all with the Islanders. For a young Anaheim team with cap space, Johnston will likely stay in the NHL and protect their younger players. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNDAxMzI2MDQxNjM4ODg1/usatsi_17975226.jpg] Like the Islanders, Anaheim starts its season on Saturday night as they battle the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. When we asked Islanders head coach Lane Lambert what went into the organization's decision to waive Johnston, he wasn't saying much. "The decision to put Ross on waivers was not an easy one," Lambert said. "There's certain things that go into it that I won't discuss, but that's where we're at right now." The Islanders had the opportunity to place Johnston on waivers Sunday, which would've allowed Holmstrom to remain up with Islanders by Monday's deadline. Instead, they waited until Monday. Why? Well, there's a few reasons. If the hope was that Johnston would pass through waivers and report to Bridgeport, waiting until Monday gave them the best chance. Sure, a lot of names were placed on waivers Sunday, with only one being claimed. But on Monday, teams made their final roster trims to get compliant, so adding wasn't on many teams' to-do list. The Islanders didn't have to risk losing Holmstrom since he was waiver-exempt. Johnston's $1.1 million would be buried in the minors anyway, and everyone has spoken glowingly about him as a person and teammate, which could benefit Bridgeport and the Islanders if and when a recall happened. Whether it was a calculated risk or by design, maybe there was some hope that Johnston would get claimed. Given Johnston's lack of playing time over the years and where he was positioned on the depth totem pole, going somewhere else gave him the best chance to play. His chances to play more consistently are much higher in California than in New York. So, it's possible that the hope was Johnston would get claimed, so by waiting, it meant there would be more eyes on his name specifically, as he was the only player in the NHL placed on waivers Monday. Johnston and the Ducks come to UBS Arena on Dec. 13. Brendan Yerkes [https://twitter.com/brendan_yerkes] contributed to this article.