Waivers today: Veteran center could quickly draw interest from several teams around the league: Kyle MacLean

Elliotte Friedman just reported that Islanders forward Kyle MacLean has been placed on waivers.

The news landed Saturday morning, hours before New York faces Anaheim tonight. The 27-year-old center is the second name on the list, after Carolina's decision to do the same with defenseman Mike Reilly.

Friedman noted that MacLean and Reilly are both on waivers.

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We already broke down Mike Reilly's waiver move in Carolina, so let's stay with the Islanders side of this. MacLean is a Basking Ridge, New Jersey native who was never drafted, and he has worked his way into 180 NHL games.

His season hasn't given New York much to hold on to. He has played 8 games without a point and sits at a -1 rating, while piling up 17 penalty minutes.

That penalty total stands out for a player who hasn't scored or set anyone up. Those minutes are the kind of thing coaches notice on a bottom-six line when the puck isn't going in.

The Islanders are 8-6-4, 19th in the NHL and fifth in the Metropolitan Division, with a goal differential of exactly 0. They won 5-2 in Los Angeles on Thursday, so this is not a team reacting to a freefall.

Will another team claim Kyle MacLean?

The price is easy to stomach. His cap hit is $850,000 and his contract expires after this season, so any claiming team takes on no long-term commitment.

But the résumé is thin. Ten goals and 17 assists over 180 career games make him a depth body, not a player who changes a lineup.

We'd lean toward him clearing, and a team would need a specific hole on its fourth line to jump on him. A zero-point start with that many penalty minutes isn't an easy sell.

Nothing has been said about why New York made the move or what happens next in the lineup. The Islanders play in Anaheim tonight, and the waiver outcome will tell us whether MacLean's stay in the NHL continues.

This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.

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