The Chicago Blackhawks have released veteran forward Daniel Paille from his tryout contract, the team announced on Monday.
In a day that saw the team release veterans Lubomir Visnovsky and Tomas Kopecky, the team has made an additional round of cuts that includes releasing Paille and reassigning forward Brandon Mashinter and defenseman Cameron Schilling to the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL.
Paille, now 31, played for the Boston Bruins last season, scoring six goals and seven assists through 71 games.
Paille’s chances of landing a NHL contract are thinning, with most teams trimming the far from training camp and those with open spots making signings — Brad Boyes signed with Toronto yesterday and Mark Fraser signed with the Senators today — the opportunities are disappearing.
Two spots we may see a veteran find a gig are with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Detroit Red Wings. Both teams are currently over the cap and will likely need to make a move. That move will need to be a cap dump, which could involved sending away salary for picks and/or prospects. If that’s the case, the teams may look for veteran assistance at a cap friendly price.
But that may be a longshot.
Keep up with all the tryout deals and their results throughout the league with The Hockey Writers’ 2015 PTO Tracker.
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Dustin Nelson is the News Editor for The Hockey Writers. He’s a contributor to Hockey Prospectus, Hockey Wilderness, and writes a column for Rotowire. He’s also written for Gone Puck Wild, Wild Xtra, InDigest, Electric Literature, The Rumpus, Tiny Mix Tapes, Prefix Magazine & other publications. Have a tip? Email him at dlukenelson[at]gmail[dot]com.
