Blackhawks' Brett Connolly, Canadiens' Sami Niku placed on waivers

Two players were placed on waivers in the NHL on Wednesday — Brett Connolly of the Chicago Blackhawks and Sami Niku of the Montreal Canadiens.

Connolly has appeared in just four games for the Blackhawks during the 2021-22 season and he hasn’t registered a point. He was suspended for four games back in December for a hit to the head of Dallas Stars forward Tanner Kero.

The Blackhawks acquired Connolly ahead of the 2021 trade deadline as a salary cap dump from the Florida Panthers. Florida sent Chicago a pair of prospects, Riley Stillman and Henrik Borgstrom, in order to dump the entirety of his $3.5 million cap hit.

If Connolly clears through waivers, the Blackhawks will save $1.125 million against the salary cap with him as a buried contract. Connolly’s four-year, $14 million contract is set to expire at the end of the season.

The other player on waivers is Canadiens defender Sami Niku.

The Habs inked Niku to a one-year contract worth $750K back in September after the 25-year-old defender and the Winnipeg Jets mutually agreed to terminate his contract. Through 13 games with the Canadiens, Niku has six points and is averaging 15:17 per night.

Niku will not cost the Habs anything against the salary cap if he clears through waivers.