THE St. Louis Blues and the Buffalo swords each placed a player on waivers from the NHL on Thursday.
The Blues waived Alexandre Texier, while the Sabers put Mason Geertsen on the line, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
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Both players can be claimed in the next 24 hours. If no team files a protest, it will be sent to their respective team. LAH clubs.
This is Texier’s second season in St. Louis. He has made eight appearances this year, recording one assist while averaging a career-low 10:15 of ice time. Last season, he scored six goals and 11 points in 31 games.
His best season came a year earlier, during his final campaign with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played in 78 games, recording 12 goals and 30 points and averaging 15:11 of ice time.
Friedman reported that Texier’s waiver assignment is not to terminate his contract, “but it’s possible we could go that route if he (is) unclaimed.”
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This would be a situation similar to where the center David Kampf and the Toronto Maple Leafs agreed to part ways, with his contract terminated to pursue another opportunity in the NHL. He then signed with the Vancouver Canucks.
Texier has not played in the AHL since his time with the Cleveland Monsters in 2018-19. He played in seven matches and recorded one point per game.
The 26-year-old is in the final year of a two-year contract, earning $2.1 million against the salary cap.
Texier will represent the French team at the 2026 Olympics, as he was named to the team’s preliminary list.
Mason Geertsen (Gerry Angus-Imagn Images)
Geertsen, meanwhile, has 30 games of NHL experience.
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The 30-year-old defenseman, who previously played left wing, played in five games with the Sabres, getting his first taste of NHL action since the 2021-22 season, when he played in 25 games with the Sabres. New Jersey Devils.
The frequent fighter has not recorded an NHL point in his career, with a minus-seven rating and 89 penalty minutes.
During the offseason, Geersten signed a two-year contract with Buffalo worth an average annual value of $775,000.
Prior to this season, he spent three consecutive seasons in the AHL, playing for the Utica Comets and Henderson Silver Knights. During that span, he played 150 games in the AHL, scoring 10 goals and 19 points.
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This year, during Hockey Against Cancer Month, the Sabers shared the story of Geertsen’s cancer diagnosis in 2024.
After injuring himself during a warm-up, he had an MRI on November 27, 2023, when the doctor thought Geertsen might have lymphoma, which can weaken bones. He was ultimately sent to a cancer center in California after the season for a thorough biopsy, after which he was diagnosed with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Treatment began in August 2024 and ended in mid-September, allowing him to arrive at the start of camp two days later. He is in remission and he and his wife, Clarity, started the Geertsen Opportunity Foundation to help make hockey more accessible and inclusive for young people in Canada and the United States.
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