The Philadelphia Flyers announced on Friday that they have placed forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel on waivers, most likely for reassignment down to AHL Lehigh Valley, if he clears.
Transaction: We have placed forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel on waivers.
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) November 12, 2021
After a somewhat impressive 2019-20 season where Aube-Kubel really made his mark with 15 points in 36 games when the team needed a jolt to their depth scoring badly, the 25-year-old has just been simply a disappointment in a bottom-six role for the last two years. Twelve points in 50 games and just one single assist in his first seven this season; the former second-round pick has been thrust down the depth chart and has been a healthy scratch the last two games.
Recent waiver claims Zack McEwen and Patrick Brown have outplayed Aube-Kubel just enough for head coach Alain Vigneault to prefer their roles on the fourth line with Nate Thompson. And with the top three lines set for more scoring opportunities, Aube-Kubel is just not suited for this team apparently. Especially with center Kevin Hayes hopefully returning and making his season debut soon, this will be yet another jolt to the potential that the young forward would even get a chance to be on the NHL roster again.
Aube-Kubel’s cap hit of $1.075-million fits perfectly snug under the maximum buriable amount in the AHL, so the Flyers will not feel any financial pain if he does end up there. And hey, Lehigh Valley can certainly use the help at forward (if he goes unclaimed) since the AHL affiliate is just 3-6-2 and at the bottom of the Atlantic Division.
Always tough to see someone that was once seen as a very solid option for future contention to eventually wash away after 57 regular season games, but where the Flyers are right now and want to be in a few months (with the moves they made this off-season) is certainly not going to happen by stringing along players that just have not been up to snuff on the ice.
