Why did the Islanders place a forward on waivers if they need a forward with Duclair hurt?

On Saturday night, at the 3:19 mark of the third period, New York Islanders forward Anthony Duclair suffered an apparent right leg injury. 

On Sunday, an off-day for the team after their 4-3 nine-round shootout victory over the Montreal Canadiens, the Islanders placed forward Julien Gauthier on waivers.

Let's start with the positive news. 

Duclair missing any amount of time isn't a positive, but Gauthier's placement on waivers likely means that the top-line forward will not be heading to the Long-Term Injured Reserve. 

For those that don't know, when a player gets hurt, teams have three options:

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But if the Islanders are going to call up a forward, why are they waiving Gauthier?

Good question.

Gauthier didn't show much in his first crack in the lineup on Saturday, playing just 7:42 minutes with two hits after Wahlstrom started the previous four games on the fourth line. 

Despite a small sample size, the Islanders clearly think someone else in Bridgeport can help fill a hole.

That doesn't mean that call-up will fill the top-line left-wing spot—they won't—but if someone is moving up in the lineup, then the call-up may fill the role that player leaves behind. 

Forward Hudson Fasching, who is in the second and final year of his deal worth $775,000 annually, was held out of the Bridgeport Islanders lineup on Sunday, so he will likely be the call-up.

But there's another caveat to all of this, and that's cap accrual.

Swapping Gauthier ($787,500) and Fasching ($775,000) actually gives the Islanders more cap space, $12,500 more, which adds a little more to the cap accrual bank.

In simplest terms, the more cap space a team has during the season, the more they can bring on at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline.

A player on waivers counts against the cap until he clears, a 24-hour timeframe.

By Monday at 2 PM, if not earlier, we'll know who was recalled. 

The biggest thing to remember is that Duclair is not on LTIR, which means his scary-looking injury may not be as bad as people think.

Also, keep in mind that the Islanders haven't announced anything, and Duclair can still end up on IR or LTIR, retroactive to Oct. 19.

If he is placed on IR, he will have to miss three games but can return against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, Oct. 29.

If he lands on LTIR, he will have to miss 10 games and 24 days, meaning he can return on Nov. 14 against the Vancouver Canucks. 

Time will tell...