Shayne Gostibehere now knows his fate

As it was expected defenseman and former Calder Trophy nominee Shayne Gostisbehere cleared waivers on Wednesday after he was placed on the wire by the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. 

The 27-year-old blue liner has been having another tough season, but has actually improved offensively compared to 2019-20. He has five goals and 11 points in 25 games this season, but his defensive game is severely lacking. He broke into the league with a lot of fanfare back in 2015 and actually put up a remarkable 13 goals and 65 points in the 2017-18 season. 

He put up just 12 points in 42 games last season and very quickly found himself in head coach Alain Vigneault’s dog house. He has two seasons left at $4.5 million apiece, which made him an expensive grab on the wire. 

As team insider Charlie O’Connor for The Athletic explained best, this is not the first time we see an expensive player being ignored on waivers: 

“Other teams have made similar wagers on high cap-hit players this season. Detroit waived Danny DeKeyser (one more season at $5 million). Carolina waived Jake Gardiner (two more at $4.05 million). Florida waived Anton Stralman (one more at $5.5 million). There were no takers on any.”

Gostisbehere has been treated by the Flyers as a third-pair even-strength defenseman, and they’ve even scratched him three times.

He now knows his fate and his struggles might continue in Philly. A change of scenery could have been good for him… Now, he in the midst of a bounce-back season or should prove to the Flyers that cannot take the chance to lose him.