The New Jersey Devils have placed forward Nikita Gusev on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Gusev went unclaimed on waivers on April 1, and the Devils were unable to trade his $4.5-million cap hit, Friedman adds.
The 28-year-old will be eligible to sign with any team once he clears and could be a cheap depth scoring option for teams seeking forwards ahead of Monday's trade deadline.
Nikita Gusev hopes to find another NHL job once his contract is terminated by the #NJDevils tomorrow. If he signs somewhere before 3 p.m. on Monday, he's eligible to play games in this year's playoffs.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) April 9, 2021
Gusev joined the Devils from the KHL with tremendous hype ahead of last season, delivering 44 points in 66 games in his debut campaign in North America. It's been a different story in 2021, though, as he's managed only five points in 20 contests while averaging over 13 minutes of ice time per night.
