Everyday a player goes onto the waiver wire and people all over Twitter talk about the possibility of their team making a claim for them. Most go through waivers without being picked up and head to their AHL club. One of the keys for the Jackets this year has been the importance of a dynamic and potent fourth line. Matt Nieto, who was recently put on waivers by the San Jose Sharks, could be a good insurance policy for the Jackets.
Last week, I wrote an article about how Hannikainen was probably the best call up of the bunch due to the “complete” nature of his game. While it is still true that his game doesn’t need as much work as the others, staying up in the NHL but relegated to the press box could make his game stagnate. What if the spot was filled by an already established player in the league?
Nieto fills a couple of the needs the Jackets have with a thirteenth forward: he is as fast as they come, and he makes defenses take note of his presence. Two points in sixteen games isn’t a good mark anyway you slice it, and he should have been better on a stacked Sharks team. The problem with the Sharks at the moment is the identity that they are trying to cultivate, they are/were scratching players like Joel Ward and Matt Nieto for someone like Michael Haley. It doesn’t make much sense, especially on a skilled team like the Sharks. You can take advantage of a team’s mistake and improve yourself in the process. Take a flyer on him and see what happens.
Even if he doesn’t perform, you send him back down onto waivers and he might get picked up. No risk, no reward, if he does end up on the Monsters, he immediately becomes one of the best players on the team. Cleveland could benefit from his presence in multiple ways and the downside is minimal.
It will get brought up that bringing in a player in the middle of a streak like this could throw off any sort of “luck” they have, when in reality this should help them practicing long term facing off against multiple other speedy players.
Dimitri Filipovic of Sportsnet put my overall feelings eloquently into a tweet.
Q: Should [Insert Team Name] claim [Insert Player Name] off waivers?
A: Probably.
Q: Will it matter if they don't?
A: Probably not.
— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) January 4, 2017
The team isn’t going to meltdown if they don’t bring him onto the team. It would be a compelling move that could help the team come playoff time. This could all end up being a moot point considering the Jackets have the last slot in the waiver order.
A guy can dream though, can’t he?
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