Maple Leafs place Ritchie on waivers
The Toronto Maple Leafs placed forward Nick Ritchie on waivers, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Ritchie has struggled to produce with his new team after signing a two-year, $5-million deal as a free agent in the offseason. He's tallied a goal and seven assists in 30 games while averaging 12:14 minutes per contest.
He's posted poor underlying numbers over the past three seasons, too.
Nick Ritchie, placed on waivers by TOR, is a bottom six power forward who is okay at generating offensive chances in tight but has not been able to finish them this season.
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) January 6, 2022
Oh, and he's taken 54 more minor penalties than he's drawn since 2018. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/Vm3eguKNyA
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound winger was given a chance in Toronto's top-six forward group early in the season but has since been relegated to fourth-line duties.
Even if Ritchie goes unclaimed, the Leafs will save $1.125 million in cap space by assigning him to the taxi squad, according to The Athletic's James Mirtle.