Mike Sgarbossa was waived by the Washington Capitals out of Training Camp. The move allowed the center to be recalled from the AHL’s Hershey Bears a few times this season as insurance due to injury.
Sgarbossa was able to because once you’re waived by an NHL team, you are exempt from going on waivers again until you play 10 or more cumulative NHL games or spend 30 cumulative days on an NHL roster.
After taking the ice in Monday night’s victory over the Ottawa Senators, Sgarbossa officially hit that 10-game mark. If the organization wishes to return Sgarbossa to Hershey, he’d need to go back through waivers at this point.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery was asked about that pregame on Tuesday. He didn’t seem too concerned.
“Him now being waiver eligible changes something upstairs but doesn’t really change anything for us,” Carbery said. “Since he’s joined us, he’s played at a real high level, done a really good job for us. We’ve been playing well as a team so that also helps. We’ll just continue to make decisions based off of that.”
Sgarbossa has held down a center spot in the lineup since Evgeny Kuznetsov went into the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in early February. Through his 11 games with the club, he has recorded four points (2g, 2a) and formed a good connection with veteran winger Max Pacioretty.
The 31-year-old Ontario native scored his second goal of the season against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. The tally was the sixth of his NHL career.
A lot of the Capitals’ recent success has come via the scoring and solid play they are getting from the depth forwards on their roster. Sgarbossa has played a big part in that, stabilizing a third line that has been shaky the entire year.
“I think if you look through our lineup it’s become a little bit more balanced,” Carbery said. “It was pretty dry early in the year for maybe two of our four lines for a week, two weeks, three weeks. Now you’re seeing on a nightly basis different lines being able to produce five-on-five.
“We’re starting to get a little bit of chemistry. That starts with some line combinations playing together a little bit more consistently and the strength down the middle of us having confidence that Sgarbs’ line with Patches can give us something there. They’ve had some really quality games and even when they’re not producing, I feel like they’ve performed solidly.”
While Sgarbossa’s newfound success in the NHL is a boon for the Capitals, his stay in the top pro league is likely going to be a tough pill to swallow for the AHL-leading Bears. To be eligible for the AHL playoffs, Sgarbossa would need to be sent down to Hershey before the March 8 trade deadline.
To do so, the Capitals would need to risk waivers with Sgarbossa after what is possibly the best spell of his career as an NHL player. Before Tuesday’s matchup, the Capitals have seen 56.3 percent of the shot attempts, 59.3 percent of the expected goals, 54.4 percent of the scoring chances, and 60.2 percent of the high-danger chances with him on the ice at five-on-five.
The Capitals recently tried to sneak Matthew Phillips through waivers to Hershey and he was plucked by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sgarbossa is still tied for the Bears’ lead in scoring with 43 points (7g, 36a) in 44 games despite not being with the team for weeks.
The Bears are no stranger to playing in the playoffs without Sgarbossa though. Last season, Hershey only had their top center in their postseason lineup for four games due to an injury and they still took home the 2023 Calder Cup championship.
