Tobias Rieder was waived by the Calgary Flames this week and he cleared waivers. That may sound like a positive thing. But anytime an NHL player goes to the waiver wire it can be a nerve-wracking event.
Tobias Rieder Trying to Stay in The NHL
The German forward signed a two-way contract with the Flames and realizes that he could be sent to the AHL Stockton team anytime. The team is suffering from cap issues (as are many teams) and moving him would alleviate some financial stress. With the Flames having only $515,000 in cap space, Rieder being waived could have been purely a financial solution as opposed to his level of play.
Tobias Rieder Has Been on Three Teams Since 2018
Rieder was traded to the Los Angeles Kings near the trade deadline along with Scott Wedgewood in exchange for Darcy Kuemper. It seems quite obvious that the Arizona Coyotes won that deal. Kuemper has been brilliant in net and Rieder has bounced around. Wedgewood signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning and is currently playing with their AHL team.
After playing the remainder of the 2018-19 season in L.A., Rieder signed on with the Edmonton Oilers as a free agent. He inked a one-year $2 million contract but didn’t see much success playing there. It’s been a topic of discussion that he failed to score a goal in 67 games and had 11 assists.
There was some distinct criticism of Rieder’s play displayed by the Oilers owner Bob Nicholson. He blamed Rieder’s poor play and inability to score goals as the reason the team failed to make the playoffs.
He told Rudi Schuller of Sportingnews.com, “Toby Rieder will not be signed by the Edmonton Oilers at the end of this year,” Nicholson said. “Toby Rieder was a player that other teams wanted. He came here for one year because he wanted to play with Leon Draisaitl, who he plays with on the German national team. He thought if he wasn’t playing with Leon he’d be playing with Connor McDavid, he’d score 15-16 goals, and instead of making $2 million he’d sign a four-year deal at three-and-a-half million [dollars per season].”
Nicholson later apologized for his statement. Yet, the hard feelings existed and that’s never a good thing.
Moving on Again
Rieder then found himself a new home with the Flames and hoped to start over again to see if he can stay with one team for a consistent length of time. He signed a small $700,000 contract and just needs ice time to prove himself. He will become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Closing Remarks
Tobias Rieder hasn’t had a very stable NHL career thus far. He did, however, experience some halfway decent seasons with the Coyotes. Rieder possesses some exceptional speed but even back then was having issues finishing off plays. He does have one goal in 10 games with the Flames so he got that monkey off his back.
Now he just needs to show the Flames that he is still a good defensive forward and penalty killer. He may not be an exceptional scorer and that’s okay. He plays his role and can help a team like the Flames get further in the playoffs than their disappointing finish last season at the hands of the upstart Colorado Avalanche.
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