- The Ducks placed defenseman Nick Jensen on waivers Saturday, per Elliotte Friedman
- The 36-year-old signed a two-year, $4.5 million deal in July and has played three of 13 games
- Read below for his numbers, the cap math and when the waiver window closes
The Ducks signed Nick Jensen in July. Three months later, they are trying to move him off the roster.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday that Anaheim placed the veteran defenseman on waivers. Here’s his post:
Jensen is 36 and signed a two-year, $4.5 million contract on the first day of free agency. He has dressed in just three of the Ducks’ first 13 games, picking up a goal and an assist while averaging 15:20 of ice time.
That is well below his career average of about 18:40 a night. Anaheim has also been outplayed with him on the ice. The Ducks controlled just 23.7 percent of the expected goals at five-on-five in his minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The roster picture explains the rest. Anaheim has leaned on younger defensemen like Tristan Luneau and Noah Warren, and Pavel Mintyukov is close to returning from a lower-body injury that has kept him out since Oct. 20. Jensen was squeezed out of the lineup before the waiver move came.
Teams have until 1 p.m. CT on Sunday to put in a claim. If nobody does, the Ducks can send him to AHL San Diego, which would save $1.225 million in cap space. They would still carry the other $1.025 million of his $2.25 million cap hit.
A claim is not a lock to happen. He is a right-shot defenseman, a side that is always in demand, but the second year of the contract and a slow start could scare teams away.
Jensen has played 697 NHL games across four organizations, with 27 goals and 147 assists, plus 895 blocked shots. He spent six seasons with the Capitals before last year’s stop in Ottawa.
The Jensen waiver move is the latest bit of roster churn for a Ducks group that already has cap questions to answer. We looked at those in our Ducks trade candidates piece over the summer.
