In advance of the Calgary Flames’ match-up with the Carolina Hurricanes, a bit of roster news: forward Tobias Rieder has cleared waivers, as he wasn’t claimed by one of the other 31 National Hockey League Clubs.
But it appears that he’ll be sticking with the Flames, for now.
Rieder (CAL) clears
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 29, 2019
Rieder is slated to play on the Flames fourth line with Andrew Mangiapane and Derek Ryan, roughly the same spot he’s played in during his entire Flames tenure to date.
Since Rieder cleared waivers, he can be on the Flames roster for 30 cumulative days without needing to clear waivers again to be assigned to the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat. Thus, the Flames have a bit of roster flexibility with him, Alan Quine and Oliver Kylington currently waiver exempt.
They have virtually no salary cap flexibility, but they now can send a body or two down to the minors on off days to save a tiny bit of salary cap space while still having a legal NHL roster. It’s not a particularly pleasant thing to do, shuttling bodies up and down, but it may be a necessary evil.