{coyotes} VETERAN CONNOLLY PLACED ON WAIVERS BY MAPLE LEAFS

Thursday 17 January 2013

{coyotes} VETERAN CONNOLLY PLACED ON WAIVERS BY MAPLE LEAFS

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Tim Connolly was placed on waivers on Thursday.

Should the veteran forward clear waivers on Friday, he could be bought out of the final year of his contract, which carries a cap hit of $4.75 million this season.

"First of all, Tim has done nothing wrong. He came in, in good shape," Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com. "There hasn't been a fit in terms of top-six forward positions. That may change, he' still part of our organization if he clears (waivers), he could be a viable asset.

"But there has to be some transparency and accountability for players who come here and try to earn positions. Even though it's a short camp, there's certainly players that fit better at this point in Randy's system. We had to make a decision about which group would begin the season and give us the best chance of winning and which players have shown that they fit better in certain positions. We don't have the luxury of doing it any different."

According to a new agreement between the NHLPA and the NHL, teams can use one of their two compliance buyouts on a player with at least a $3 million in average salary this season and incur a full cap hit, but suffer no cap hit next season or beyond.

Last season, the 31-year-old played in 70 games with the Leafs, recording 13 goals and 23 assists.

Also on Thursday, the Maple Leafs lost forward Keith Aucoin on waivers to the New York Islanders.

The following players were placed on waivers Thursday:

Tampa Bay - F Mike Angelidis, F JT Wyman, F Kyle Wilson, D Matt Taormina.

Ottawa - F Pat Cannone.

St. Louis - D Taylor Chorney.

Boston - F Jamie Tardif.

Colorado - F David Van Der Gulik.

Columbus - D Nick Holden.

Toronto - F Tim Connolly.

Vancouver - D Derek Joslin, F Andrew Gordon.

Carolina - F Tim Wallace.