
Following Monday's practice, the New York Islanders waived Ross Johnston.
The New York Islanders started Monday morning with 24 players on their roster. By 5 PM ET, the Islanders and the rest of the 31 NHL clubs had to submit their rosters and be cap compliant, which meant the Islanders had a move to make.
The belief was that the Islanders only had one option: to send down Simon Holmstrom, who was waiver-exempt after missing Sunday's waiver deadline.
It seems that the Islanders are going another route to avoid sending Holmstrom down, and that's by placing Ross Johnston on waivers Monday.
Now, teams have 24 hours to claim Johnston and his $1.1 million, which wouldn't help the Islanders get to a 23-man roster by 5 PM.
The Islanders will still need to send Holmstrom down to be roster compliant but can recall him later in the week ahead of Saturday night's season opener against the Buffalo Sabres.