NHL Notebook: Toronto Maple Leafs trade Sam Lafferty to Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers’ Sam Bennett out ‘a couple weeks,’ and 46 players hit the waiver wire

The Vancouver Canucks have acquired forward Sam Lafferty from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, the club announced on Sunday.

“As we work toward becoming a tougher team to play against, Sam will add some grit and sandpaper to our line-up,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin stated in a press release after the news was announced.

“We also like the way he skates and can back players off with his speed. He is a good addition to our forward group and has shown he can also use his speed effectively in a penalty-killing role.”

Lafferty, who listed 12 goals and 27 points last season, split his 2022-23 campaign playing 51 games with the Chicago Blackhawks and 19 with the Toronto Maple Leafs after being traded alongside defenceman Jake McCabe on the trade deadline in late February 2023. Out of the 27 combined points Lafferty posted six of them after being traded to the Leafs, adding an additional three points in the clubs nine Stanley Cup Playoff appearances.

The six-foot-two forward was originally drafted in the fourth-round by the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2014 draft. He played two full seasons with the Penguins before being traded to Chicago just 10 games into the 2021-22 season. Lafferty played a total of 94 games in his home province of Pennsylvania, scoring six goals and 21 points. When he joined the Blackhawks for a short years a half tenure, he posted 15 goals and 32 points throughout 97 games, before joining Toronto.

Lafferty will be welcomed by the Canucks with a few familiar faces, as he joins the ranks alongside former Penguins teammates forward Teddy Blueger and defenceman Ian Cole who signed with the club as free agents on July 1st, and goaltender Casey Desmith who was recently acquired in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens.

The Florida Panthers will be without one of their star forwards for the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign as the club announced Sam Bennett will be out for “longer than (a) day-to-day” basis.

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice told media on Saturday that the centre is “doubtful” for the teams season opener against the Minnesota Wild on October 12th and is likely to miss the first few weeks of the season.

Bennett was listed with a lower body injury after Thursday nights preseason game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. After playing a total ice time of 9:43 seconds, the forward headed to the dressing room and did not return to the ice. Lafferty finished the game with a single hit and a -1 rating as the Panthers reigned victorious over the Lightning with a score of 6-3.

Although the root cause of the injury is unclear, Bennett was seen in a walking boot on his left foot/leg on Saturday at Amerant Bank Arena, speculating it isn’t something minor.

Bennett first joined the Panthers for their final 10 games in a trade with the Calgary Flames in 2020-21. Since then he has revitalized his play to become a 40-point producer for the past two consecutive seasons. In 2021-22 the forward scored 28 goals and 49 points surpassing his previous career highs. During the past 2022-23 campaign Bennett, scored 16 goals and ranked eighth amongst his Panthers teammates in points at 40.

As the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NHL draft by the Calgary Flames, Bennett was quick to join the team for one game in 2014-15 where he posted one point. The following year he acquired a full-time roster spot and remained with the club for another four and a half years. In total he played 402 games for the Flames scoring 67 goals and 140 points, but failed to live up to their expectations resulting in his trade to the Panthers.

Preseason has come to a close, and now the hockey community is just days away from the start of NHL regular season play that is set to begin on Tuesday. Amongst all the excitement, 32 teams are now left to shave down their rosters ahead of the first puck drop.

Sunday marked the last day for teams to waive players, resulting in 46 players getting waived by their respected teams including Toronto Maple Leafs’ netminder Martin Jones, Edmonton Oilers Raphael Lavoie, and Montreal Canadiens’ Joel Armia.

Final rosters are due at 3 p.m. MST on Monday, ahead of the first wave of games on Tuesday night.

Here’s the full list of players who joined the waiver wire from Daily Faceoff:

Anaheim Ducks
F Andrew Agozzino
G Alex Stalock
D Lassi Thomson

Arizona Coyotes
F Travis Boyd
G Ivan Prosvetov
F Zachary Sanford

Boston Bruins
F Patrick Brown
F Anthony-John Greer

Carolina Hurricanes
D Dylan Coghlan

Chicago Blackhawks
F Joey Anderson

Colorado Avalanche
F Riley Tufte

Dallas Stars
F Riley Damiani

Detroit Red Wings
F Zachary Aston-Reese

Edmonton Oilers
D Benjamin Gleason
F Raphael Lavoie
F Lane Pederson

Florida Panthers
F Zac Dalpe
D Casey Fitzgerald
D John Ludvig

Los Angeles Kings
F Jaret Anderson-Dolan

Montreal Canadiens
F Joel Armia
D Gustav Lindstrom

Ottawa Senators
F Bokondji Imama

Pittsburgh Penguins
D Mark Friedman
G Magnus Hellberg
F Vincent Hinostroza
F Colin White
F Radim Zohorna

St. Louis Blues
F MacKenzie MacEachern
D Calle Rosen
G Malcom Subban
F Nathan Walker

Tampa Bay Lightning
D Zach Bogosian
F Gabriel Fortier

Toronto Maple Leafs
D Simon Benoit
F Kyle Clifford
F Dylan Gambrell
G Martin Jonse
D William Lagesson
D Maxime Lajoie
F Jack Studnicka
D Christian Wolanin

Vegas Golden Knights
F Grigori Denisenko

Winnipeg Jets
D Kyle Capobianco
G Collin Delia
F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby