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The Los Angeles Kings placed forward Arthur Kaliyev on waivers on Sunday. While he is a promising 23-year-old forward, he has not found a home in the LA lineup. There are plenty of teams who could use a scorer with the trade deadline months away. According to Bruce Garioch of the Ottawa Sun, the Senators could be interested in poaching Arthur Kaliyev from the Kings.
The expectation is [Steve] Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, will study the option of claiming Kaliyev because the two have a long history after winning an Ontario Hockey League championship together in 2018 with the Hamilton Bulldogs,” Garioch wrote on Sunday.
He continued, “Senators owner Michael Andlauer also owns the Bulldogs, who have since transferred their operation to Brantford. The Senators studied the possibility of acquiring Kaliyev at last year’s draft held in Las Vegas, but opted not to go that route because of the Kings’ asking price.”
If the Senators want to claim Kaliyev, they have until Monday morning to make the move. If no one ahead of them in the waiver order, determined by the standings, makes a claim, Kaliyev, and his contract would move to the Senators with no assets going to the Kings.
Is Arthur Kaliyev a fit for the Senators?
Kaliyev has not played this season because of an injury he suffered in training camp. He just finished a two-week conditioning stint in the American Hockey League before the waivers move. While he was a second-round pick of the Kings, they are clicking on offense and do not have the space to try and make it work with Kaliyev.
But the Senators have nothing but space on a playoff-contending team in a weak Eastern Conference. They are dealing with disappointing prospects themselves, namely Shane Pinto and Ridly Grieg, and could use a fresh face. New owner Michael Andlauer has not made enough moves to have an identity in fans' eyes yet. But picking up Kaliyev would show a commitment to winning the Senators have not shown in a long time.
There is nothing that the Senators should not do to try and make the playoffs this season. They have not made it since 2017 and have been stuck in a rebuild ever since. If picking up Kaliyev for nothing gets them the scoring they need, it should be a no-brainer. Kaliyev has 35 goals in 188 games with the Kings.
