When the Dallas Stars placed Colton Sceviour and goaltender Cristopher Nilstorp on waivers yesterday there was some intrigue as to whether one, or both, would be claimed.
They cleared. Luke Gazdic, however, did not.
EDM claims Luke Gazdic from DAL.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) September 29, 2013
The scrappy forward and Texas Stars favorite had a great camp and was noticeable in the preseason. The Edmonton Oilers apparently noticed him enough in Oklahoma City Friday night to claim him Saturday in their quest for a little grit.
Just six days ago the Oilers picked up some “grit” in forward
“Watching the Leaf-Buffalo game last night and what happened to us against Vancouver, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody that we picked up some toughness,” said general manager Craig MacTavish. “We know the player, we know what he’s capable of and we think there was a need here.” [Edmonton Journal]
Then he was injured friday night, so they turned around and took Gazdic to replace him.
It’s not a blow to the Dallas Stars at the NHL level, though he could have been a good depth call-up in the right circumstances, but it is a loss to our friends in Cedar Park, who have come to know and love him over the last four years.
The Stars took Gazdic 172nd overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Oiler pundits are a bit beside themselves:
Here’s what’s staggering: that the #Oilers, with the black hole that is their centre depth chart, felt replacing MacIntyre was important.
— Jonathan Willis (@JonathanWillis) September 29, 2013
http://t.co/D5I3JTB795 This is hilarious. How many facepunchers can one team acquire? RT @TSNBobMcKenzie: EDM claims Luke Gazdic from DAL.
— Copper & Blue (@CopperandBlue) September 29, 2013
Elsewhere it’s a busy day on the wire as those same Oilers put Philip Larsen on waivers. Thanks for Shawn Horcoff. He looks good so far.
Adam Pardy has also been waived by whichever team had his rights for whatever reason.
Luke Gazdic’s playoff beard was awesome last year: