The regular 10 a.m. waivers rolled in Sunday with a major surprise from the Flames: the team placed Stockton Heat winger Yasin Ehliz on unconditional waivers, likely for termination of contract.

Ehliz was one of the offseason’s depth signings, brought in after a strong Olympic performance and (likely) familiarity with new Flames associate coach Geoff Ward, who has coached Team Germany in the past. He wasn’t expected to be much at the NHL level, but the thought was that he could provide some pro experience on a relatively fresh-faced AHL roster that featured plenty of turnover.

However, that low bar couldn’t even be cleared. Ehliz was a sparingly-used fourth liner who only played four games out of a potential 10. He took a few shots on goal and that was pretty much it. Ehliz has likely received an offer to go back to Germany (or any other spot in Europe) so that’s probably why this move was made.

This doesn’t really do much for the Heat, although it guarantees that other healthy scratch players like Matthew Phillips and Brett Pollock will see the ice more often.