The Arizona Coyotes were facing a roster crunch on Wednesday and needed to send somebody to the American Hockey League.
The player they decided to send down? Their All-Star, John Scott.
After claiming defenseman Kevin Connauton on waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets, the team needed to create a roster spot for him and decided Scott was the most logical candidate.
On the surface, that is probably one of the reasons there were harsh critics of the online fan movement to vote Scott, an enforcer that has scored five goals in 285 career games, into the game as the captain of the Pacific Division squad. Because, after all, that's probably not the look the NHL wants for its game to have one of the four captains voted into the game being sent to the AHL, especially after he has already been waived on more than one occasion by the team this season.
But it's the fact that he has been on waivers that made him the obvious choice for the roster move on Wednesday. Because he has already cleared waivers that meant Scott was eligible to be sent to the AHL without first having to pass through the waiver wire.
The Coyotes get to pick up a defenseman they like, and they don't have to risk losing anybody else on the roster to make room for him. At least not yet.
The move to the AHL is only a temporary one for Scott.
Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said that the team will recall Scott in the next couple of days, via Coyotes beat writer Sarah McLellan.
#Coyotes have sent John Scott to AHL to make room for Connauton, but Scott will be recalled in "next day or so," Tippett said.
— Sarah McLellan (@azc_mclellan) January 13, 2016
Tippett added that the team will look at a couple of different situations to make sure he is in the NHL so he can participate in the NHL All-Star Game later this month in Nashville.
Scott has only appeared in 11 games for the Coyotes this season (and none since Dec. 31) and played a total of 69 minutes. He has one assist on the season.
The NHL is reportedly going to make changes to the voting process for future All-Star games.
