The Checkers could be getting two key players back in their lineup this week as the Carolina Hurricanes placed forward Zach Boychuk and defenseman Michal Jordan on waivers.
The moves, made at noon on Wednesday, are necessary steps in the process of assigning both players to Charlotte due to a combination of factors including their previous professional experience and their amount of NHL games played this season. Should the Hurricanes decide to go that route and no other NHL teams put in a claim for their services in the meantime, Boychuk and Jordan could join the Checkers no sooner than 12 p.m. on Thursday.
Needless to say, the additions would be huge for the Checkers, who have struggled to replace them and many other key players from previous years this season. Boychuk, who led the AHL with 36 goals on his way to Second Team All-Star honors last season, would surely provide a spark to a team that ranks 29th with 2.26 goals per game. Jordan, the Checkers’ captain who represented the club at the AHL All-Star Classic in 2013, would boost a defense that has dealt with injuries and recalls in recent weeks.
Both players should also greatly benefit a power play that ranks 30th in the league at 8.6 percent and has just four goals in its last 19 games.
With the Hurricanes as healthy as they are likely to be all season, Boychuk and Jordan, both of whom began the season in Charlotte, had been odd men out in recent games. Boychuk, who had one goal in two AHL games to start the season, has six points (3g, 3a) in 31 NHL games over the course of the current campaign. Jordan (seven points in 15 AHL games), went scoreless in 16 games with Carolina.
