Boston Bruins Claim Former First Round Pick Off Waivers

It's been a busy week on the NHL waiver wire, as many teams waived and claimed players.

Notably, the Edmonton Oilers claimed Alex Regula from the Boston Bruins, the Utah Hockey Club claimed Dakota Mermis from the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Minnesota Wild claimed Travis Dermott from the Edmonton Oilers.

In an update, Elliotte Friedman announced that the Boston Bruins claimed the former first-round pick Oliver Wahlstrom from the New York Islanders.

Wahlstrom, 24, was drafted 11th overall by the Isles in 2018. This season, he scored two goals and two assists in 27 games.

The Islanders have been struggling this season, and patience is running out in the organization, which is why the general manager Lou Lamoriello waived Wahlstrom alongside veteran Pierre Engvall yesterday.

With Wahlstrom gone, the Islanders freed up $1 million on the salary cap, and now have $9,256,667 in current cap space.

It'll be interesting to see what the Bruins decide to do with Wahlstrom. Considering the team's reputation of not having a lot of patience, as we saw with Jim Montgomery's firing, Wahlstrom will need to perform well in order to keep a spot on the team's lineup.

If he can't do that, the Bruins could send him down to Providence to give him an opportunity to find his rhythm in the AHL. If he manages to reach his full potential, the Islanders could regret parting ways with him.

Brad Marchand and the Bruins will be back on the ice tonight in Vancouver to face Quinn Hughes and the Canucks.

It would be surprising to see Wahlstrom in the lineup tonight, but an official confirmation from his new organization is expected to be made before the initial puck drop.