Per hour five of Puck Daddy’s trade deadline madness, the Thrashers have claimed center Rob Schremp off waivers. Schremp has 10 goals and 12 assists this season for the Isles, and has taken 379 faceoffs, winning 47.8% of them.
Schremp would be a good upgrade from Tim Stapleton centering the third line, though he is by no means a replacement for Jim Slater on the penalty kill. Schremp has taken only one shorthanded faceoff all season. His overall faceoff success rate pales in comparison to Slater’s 61.5% draw rate.
If Slater has no chance of coming back, this is a risk-free stopgap. Also, this allows the Thrashers to maintain Stapleton at center if need be until Alexander Burmistrov comes back, though it could potentially limit Patrice Cormier’s time at center unless Nik Antropov moves back to the wing.