Former First-Round Pick Mark Jankowski on NHL Waivers

The Nashville Predators placed forward Mark Jankowski on waivers Monday afternoon. The 28-year-old has four goals and three assists in 26 games this season with the Predators.

Jankowski signed a one-year contract with Nashville last off-season with a cap hit of $750,000.

Originally selected in the first round (21st overall) by the Calgary Flames in the 2012 NHL Draft, Jankowski has played in 298 career NHL games for four different franchises, Nashville Predators, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, and Pittsburgh Penguins, he has scored 46 goals and 41 assists in his NHL career.

Considering his contract is for the league minimum and has a history with multiple NHL franchises, going unclaimed by noon Mountain Time tomorrow, February 21, isn’t a foregone conclusion. He could be a depth addition for any team to ensure they have options after making a trade before the #NHLTradeDeadline.

Nashville is a team to watch at the trade deadline, given their struggles this season, they are currently on the outside looking in on the playoffs, sitting seven points behind the Minnesota Wild for the Western Conference Wildcard-2 spot. With aging veterans on big contracts and limited cap space moving forward, sending Jankowski to waivers over some of the team’s other waiver-exempt options might be the start of many moves by GM David Poile over the next 12 days.

Should he clear waivers, Jankowski will be sent down to Nashville’s American Hockey League affiliate Milwaukee Admirals. With Milwaukee on a previous AHL stint, he had nine points (5G, 4A) in seven games.

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