Every NHL team plays the waiver game in some way to start the season, often making roster decisions partially — or entirely — based on which players must be exposed to a potential claim on their way to an AHL assignment.
During training camp, Jaroslav Chmelar was one of the few skaters legitimately competing for a spot in the Rangers lineup who is waivers exempt.
The Blueshirts were willing to lose veteran Taylor Raddysh on the waiver wire to keep Chmelar on the roster. Raddysh ultimately cleared, but Chmelar has competed in the last four straight games after serving as a healthy scratch in the season-opener in Boston.
“The question is: Do we just put guys in the lineup and send guys down just because they’re waivers exempt, or do we put the guys in the lineup that we think are going to give us the best chance to win? We chose to make a decision based on the latter,” head coach Mike Sullivan said Tuesday before the Rangers took on the Islanders at Madison Square Garden. “We think the guys that are in the lineup are deserving to be in the lineup through their performance and their play. Jaro is one of those guys. The expectations that we have, and how we’ve defined it with Jaro, is his intentions are in the right place — and we think he’s had an impact on the game.”
