UPDATE: Darling cleared waivers and has been assigned to Charlotte. Zykov was claimed by the Edmonton Oilers.
The Canes today placed forward Valentin Zykov and goalie Scott Darling on waivers. Should they clear Friday at noon, they will be assigned to Charlotte.
Zykov, who has recorded three assists in 13 NHL games for Carolina this year, spent the last two weeks on a conditioning stint with the Checkers, logging two goals over six games. Last season the Russian forward captured the Willie Marshall Award for leading the AHL in goals with 33 tallies in 63 games. The 23-year-old Zykov, who signed a two-year, one-way contract with Carolina over the summer, has recorded 104 points (58g, 46a) in 180 games over four AHL seasons with Charlotte and Ontario.
Darling, who has gone 2-4-1 through seven appearances with Carolina this year, has also spent time in Charlotte via conditioning stint this season. After recovering from an injury suffered during the preseason, the netminder joined the Checkers and stopped 25 of the 26 shots he saw in his lone start to pick up a victory. The ninth-year-pro has logged 53 career AHL games, most recently with Rockford in 2014-15. Darling, 29, also appeared in the SPHL, CHL and ECHL before breaking into the NHL with Chicago in 2014-15.
"It just doesn't make any sense to have three goalies and the other two deserve to be here right now,” Carolina GM Don Waddell told Chip Alexander this afternoon, referring to Curtis McElhinney and Petr Mrazek. “Whether I'm paying him to play for Carolina or paying him to play in Charlotte, I'd rather have him playing in case something happens and we need a goalie."
If they clear waivers, which will be found out Friday at noon, both Zykov and Darling will be able to join the Checkers in Providence, where they’re kicking off a three-in-three road swing with a 7 p.m. tilt against the Bruins.
