Flyers' Gostisbehere clears waivers

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere cleared waivers Wednesday, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Gostisbehere can now be placed in the AHL or on the Flyers' taxi sqaud. Both moves clear an NHL roster spot and remove $1.075 million worth of prorated cap space from the team's books each day he's not on the roster, according to The Athletic's Charlie O'Connor.

The 27-year-old has two years beyond this season remaining on his current deal, which carries an annual cap hit of $4.5 million.

Gostisbehere ranks third on the Flyers in average ice time this season (20:01) and has contributed five goals and 11 points through 25 outings. He missed the opening two weeks after testing positive for COVID-19.

The 5-foot-11 blue-liner stormed onto the scene with a 46-point rookie campaign in 2015-16 to finish second in Calder Trophy voting. He ranked eighth among all defensemen in goals (37) and ninth in points (150) between then and 2017-18.

He's seen his game slip in recent years, however, particularly in the defensive end, according to Hockey Viz's isolated impact tool. (Red, or positive, is good in the offensive zone, while blue, or negative, is good in the defensive zone.)

The Flyers, who rank 30th in goals against per game (3.56), have won consecutive contests after losing five of their previous six.