UPDATE: Glass cleared waivers and has been assigned to Rockford.
The Chicago Blackhawks placed goaltender Jeff Glass on waivers Friday, according to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun. The move comes after Glass, the current starting goalie for the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL, signed a two-year NHL contract with the Blackhawks on Thursday.
Glass, a 31-year-old journeyman, joined the organization in January on a minor league contract with Rockford. He’s played well enough since then that the Blackhawks decided he was worth keeping around, so they inked him to a proper NHL deal that runs through the 2017-18 season.
It’s a little odd that Glass needs to clear waivers even though he was already in the organization, but it appears the NHL treats him as a new signee for the Blackhawks now. So as someone under an NHL contract with the Blackhawks being assigned to the AHL, he’s required to pass waivers given that, at his age, he’s no longer exempt.
This is largely a formality, as it’s difficult to see anyone actually claiming Glass, so there’s not much to worry about in terms of losing him to another team. Technically it’s possible, but given how he ended up with the Blackhawks in the first place, the odds are that this is just a procedural move that’ll end with Glass still in Rockford.