A few hours before the puck drops to start the 2018-19 season, the Capitals are still putting some final touches on their roster.
Wednesday afternoon, the team announced they have waived forward Jayson Megna. One important distinction is they have no intention to send him down to Hershey at this time.
ROSTER UPDATE: MEGNA has been placed on waivers. The Capitals do not expect to loan him to Hershey at this time.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) October 3, 2018
The move comes as the Caps are only carrying 6 healthy defensemen. With the addition of Dmitrij Jaskin (and his $1.1 million cap hit) off waivers yesterday, the team had two extra forwards. The waiving of Megna leaves Jaskin as the healthy scratch for opening night.
Megna appeared in four preseason games finishing with 1 goal and a total of 3 shots on goal. He played time on both the power play and penalty kill.
This move could work out in two ways. The Capitals could be offering Megna up to see if any other teams in the league have an interest in him. If he passes through waivers without a claim, the team could opt to keep him and send him down to Hershey at a later time. The waiver wire is crowded at the moment and a player could pass through easier than later in the season.
Placing Megna on waivers now gets it out of the way for when Caps might want to send him down later. And with teams having just set their rosters, he might pass through easier.
He can play up to 10 games and be on roster for up to 30 days after clearing waivers.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) October 3, 2018
Megna signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Capitals in July. If he ultimately makes it to the AHL, his contract is worth $315k.
Headline photo: Patrick Smith
