NY Islanders: The Anaheim Ducks claim Ross Johnston off waivers

Ross Johnston is no longer part of the New York Islanders organization.

The undrafted 29-year-old, who has played his entire NHL career on Long Island, was claimed by the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday afternoon after being placed on waivers Monday.

Johnston was on the Islanders' 23-man roster submitted to the league by 5 PM yesterday, though it was after he was placed on waivers. The team had made the decision to loan Simon Holmstrom to Bridgeport to become cap-compliant with the expectation that Holmstrom would be recalled and be part of the opening night roster.

"The decision to put Ross on waivers was not an easy one," said head coach Lane Lambert after practice on Tuesday, as posted by Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. "There are certain things that go into that I won't discuss but that's where we're at right now."

If Johnston had cleared waivers, he would have been assigned to Bridgeport (AHL).

In going to Anaheim, Johnston will be reunited with longtime Bridgeport head coach Brent Thompson, who is now an assistant coach with the Ducks under long-time former Islanders assistant coach and current Anaheim head coach Greg Cronin.

In a 134 career games with the Islanders across seven seasons, Johnston scored 15 goals and nine assists while being assessed 283 penalty minutes. Last season, he appeared in 16 games and registered two assists.

Johnston was in his second year of a four-year extension he signed with the Islanders in 2021 with a cap hit of $1.1M. It was his second four-year contract Johnston signed with GM Lou Lamoriello and the Isles, having signed a four-year deal in 2018. He was signed by Garth Snow to a three-year entry level contract in 2015 and made his NHL debut on Apr. 10, 2016.