NHL teams have already started placing players on waivers — a.k.a. the graveyard of players you were once very excited about — as they prepare to get their rosters cut down to the required size. Teams sometimes use this time of year to pluck a player off waivers who fits an immediate need and who they think could benefit from a new organization. I’ve highlighted a few players I think could be of interest to NHL organizations. This does not mean these players will for sure be on waivers, but I think there’s a good enough chance to warrant a discussion.

Josh Mahura, LHD, Anaheim

Mahura was in and out of the Ducks lineup last season. After the additions of Dmitry Kulilov and Olli Juolevi, Mahura will likely get squeezed out of the lineup. He’s a strong skater who can make a good first pass so I’ve always thought he could make it work as a third pair defenseman, but he doesn’t really stand out at either end to have a defined role. He has tools to work with, and I could see another organization trying to gamble on him.

Connor Mackey and Juuso Valimaki, LHD, Calgary

Mackey and Valimaki are likely battling for the same roster spot in Calgary. Mackey was a top and highly sought after college free agent at Minnesota State. He’s been a solid AHLer but only broke through for a handful of NHL games with Calgary. He’s a strong skater with decent hockey sense who I thought would be a useful third pair or at a minimum 6/7 type of defenseman. Calgary has a strong, crowded blue line and former first-round pick Juuso Valimaki has yet to stick as a full-time regular and will also need to clear waivers. Valimaki is a very good skater with size, but he’s yet to show he can truly excel at one end of the rink to carve out a legit role. I’d expect both to be of interest if they hit the wire, but especially Mackey — in particular for the clubs that looked into him three years ago.

Shane Bowers, C, Colorado

Bowers was a former 28th overall pick and was part of the three-team trade involving Matt Duchene. He’s yet to play an NHL game and has been only an average AHL player. Still, he’s an excellent skater and there’s a chance someone may gamble on the physical toolkit and hope a change of scenery helps, even if it’s a forward who hasn’t even been a 0.5 point/game player in the AHL and isn’t a great two-way player either.

Riley Tufte, LW, Dallas

Tufte is a similar case to Bowers, although if a team had to choose between the two I would bet they’d pick Tufte. He’s a huge winger who skates quite well for his size, but he has limited offense and hasn’t broken through into an NHL regular. I’m sure Dallas would prefer to keep him on their roster and not put him on waivers, but if some of their first-round forwards like Ty Dellandrea or Mavrik Bourque have strong camps their hand may be forced. Tufte could intrigue if a team thinks it can mold him into a bottom-six winger who can PK. As of today, Tufte is on waivers so we’ll find out by midday if there are any takers.