The Nashville Predators have claimed winger Samuel Fagemo off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports Monday. All other players placed on waivers yesterday, aside from new Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jansen Harkins, cleared.
While he may only have 13 NHL games to his name, this is a bit of a tough loss for the Kings. The team’s 50th overall pick in 2019, Fagemo has yet to crack the NHL full-time but looked good in a nine-game call-up last season, recording two goals and an assist despite receiving a paltry 7:51 per game. He tore things up in the minors in the goal-scoring department for a second straight season, too, posting 23 goals in 56 games with the AHL’s Ontario Reign to finish second on the team in goals.
The Kings have a lot of forward prospects, but it’s a pool that’s quickly evaporating as players like Quinton Byfield and Arthur Kaliyev are now full-time NHLers. Los Angeles had signed Fagemo to a one-year, two-way contract paying him $775K in the NHL and $100K in the AHL in July after his entry-level contract expired.
Fagemo, 23, now battles for a bottom-six spot with the Predators just over a week before the start of the regular season. His addition to the roster puts a fire under veterans like Kiefer Sherwood and Cole Smith to hang onto their fourth-line roles, while a youngster like Philip Tomasino also needs to step things up as he hasn’t quite secured a top-nine role throughout camp thus far. Given Tomasino still does not require waivers for assignment to the AHL, he could very well start the season with AHL Milwaukee after the Fagemo claim despite recording 18 points in 31 NHL contests last season.