Golden Knights place two goalies on waivers
The Golden Knights settled their goaltending situation Saturday, as backups Oscar Dansk and Garret Sparks were placed on waivers.
Both players can be claimed by any of the other 30 teams before 9 a.m. Sunday with no compensation to the Knights.
If they clear waivers, as expected, Dansk and Sparks would be reassigned to Chicago of the American Hockey League and battle for the job as the starter for the Wolves.
By waiving the goaltenders early in training camp when teams aren’t looking for a backup, it is less likely they will be claimed.
The move means Malcolm Subban will again be the backup to starter Marc-Andre Fleury for the Knights.
Dansk, who played the past two seasons with Chicago (AHL), was the starter in Thursday’s 3-2 overtime victory at Los Angeles and finished with 36 saves.
He went 27-9-4-2 with a 2.46 goals-against average and .913 save percentage for the Knights’ AHL affiliate and helped Chicago to the Calder Cup finals last season.
Sparks was acquired in July from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a 2020 fourth-round pick and the contract of injured forward David Clarkson.
In his only start of the preseason Tuesday, Sparks turned away 24 shots and blanked Colorado 5-0.
Sparks won the backup job in Toronto last season, but struggled the final two months after a solid start. He finished 8-9-1 with a .902 save percentage and a 3.15 goals-against average in 20 games.
Also, forward Tyrell Goulbourne and defensemen Brett Lernout and Jaycob Megna cleared waivers Saturday and were reassigned to the AHL.
Urgency sets in
Defenseman Dylan Coghlan said the latest round of training camp cuts increases the sense of urgency for those who remain. The Knights assigned nine players to the American Hockey League on Friday and placed three more on waivers, in addition to Saturday’s moves.
“It definitely starts to feel closer to the goal,” said Coghlan, who’s one of five youngsters competing for a job on the blue line. “It sucks to see guys leave, but it’s good for guys like me and a couple other guys that are fighting for spots. (But) you try not to look at it that way.”
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Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.
