The Blackhawks announced the moves on Tuesday.

Montador was placed and cleared waivers on Monday, meaning the team retained his rights. He has appeared in only one game since suffering a concussion in February 2012 and that was in late March. He has not played this season.

Hayes has 22 goals and 17 assists for Rockford.

The Blackhawks set an NHL record by collecting at least one point in the first 24 games. That streak ended with a loss to Colorado on Friday, and they fell again to Edmonton on Sunday. Chicago’s next game is Thursday at Columbus.

The post Hawks assign Steve Montador to AHL appeared first on IdealCapper.

The New York Islanders placed the goaltender on waivers Friday, the team announced on its website.

Although logic would suggest the move is the first step toward a potential buyout for DiPietro, general manager Garth Snow declined to reveal his plans.

“We haven’t given that any consideration at this point,” Snow said when reached by phone Friday afternoon. “I’m not gonna speculate what the future may hold.”

DiPietro is expected to report to the team’s AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, assuming he clears waivers Saturday at noon. Although a team could, in theory, claim him, both his hefty salary and abysmal performance this season make that scenario unlikely.

Snow said he wants to see DiPietro improve his game down in the minors.

“The decision was made primarily as a first step to get him back to the form he was in before he started getting all these injuries,” Snow said. “It’s a situation where we want Rick to have every chance to get back to that success.”

DiPietro started the season with a 0-3-0 record and posted dreadful numbers — a 4.10 goals-against average and .855 save percentage — but his albatross of a contract remains the team’s more pressing issue.

The oft-injured DiPietro’s 15-year, $67.5 million contract — which pays him $4.5 million annually through 2021 — is regarded as one of the league’s worst.

The Islanders could choose to exercise a transition buyout on the 31-year-old this summer. Each team was provided two of these in the new collective bargaining agreement, to be used in the summers of 2013 and 2014. The team could also elect to employ the traditional buyout rule, which would allow the team to retain his cap hit.

That may be the most desirable option for the club, which has barely hovered above the cap floor in recent seasons.

Until the Islanders decide whether or not to buy him out — the team has previously used buyouts on Alexei Yashin and Brendan Witt — the club will pay both his salary and be charged for his cap hit.

Per the rules of the new CBA, DiPietro will still carry a $3.6 million (prorated) hit on the team’s salary cap this year.

Earlier this month, the team acquired veteran netminder Tim Thomas in a trade with the Bruins in what boiled down to a simple salary-cap transaction. The Islanders added Thomas’ $5 million cap hit and won’t have to pay him a single dollar in salary since he has no intention of playing or reporting to the team. Thomas said during the summer that he was taking the year off from hockey to spend time with his family.

DiPietro, a former first overall draft pick, was upset when informed of the team’s decision, Snow said.

“He was disappointed, like any player would be in that situation,” Snow said.

With DiPietro headed down, 22-year-old prospect Kevin Poulin will likely be recalled from the minors to back up veteran Evgeni Nabokov in net.

The post Rick DiPietro placed on waivers appeared first on IdealCapper.

The 35-year-old Redden was placed on waivers this week by the New York Rangers, who bought out the final two years of his contract on Thursday.

Also on Friday, the Blues released 35-year-old defenseman Colin White, who was brought in for a tryout earlier this week. White is three games shy of 800 over 12 NHL seasons. He played in 54 games for the San Jose Sharks last season after 11 seasons with the New Jersey Devils.

Redden, who spent the past two seasons with Connecticut of the AHL, had five goals and 35 assists in 156 regular-season games with the Rangers over two seasons after he signed a six-year, $39 million deal to leave Ottawa.

Under the new labor deal, Redden will earn a pro-rated $3.341 million this season plus two-thirds of the $5 million he was set to earn next season. In 994 career NHL games over 13 years, Redden has 106 goals and 344 assists.

“Wade is a solid two-way defenseman,” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said Friday. “We believe his experience will complement and add stability to our defensive core.”

Redden is scheduled for a physical on Sunday, a day after the Blues open the season at home against the Detroit Red Wings. He was the second overall pick by the New York Islanders in 1995.

The post Blues sign Wade Redden appeared first on IdealCapper.