Two former second round picks and NHL veteran land on waivers, per respected NHL Insider

Teams are working to optimize their roster for the second half of the NHL season as they make a playoff push, or clear space to make moves during the trade deadline.

Today as a result of those moves, three NHLers have found themselves out of a job which could be temporary as they hit waivers today.

Ben Jones and Devin Shore of the Minnesota Wild hit waivers, while the Tampa Bay Lightning cut Gage Goncalves from the lineup.

If all three players clear waivers they will head to ther AHL affiliate(s) in Syracuse, and Iowa.

Devin Shore is a former 2nd-round pick of the Dallas Stars in 2012 and has found himself in a journeyman role in the NHL. This season he's found himself jumping between the AHL and NHL with the Minnesota and Iowa Wild.

He's only played 24 games this season and scored 1 point ( 1 A) in the NHL, and the team needs to prioritize roster spots.

While Ben Jones has put out dismal numbers this season and has played 25 games with the Wild, and 10 PIMs. Jones was a former 7th round pick by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017. At 25, he could be a useful depth addition for an AHL roster spot.

Gage Goncalves of the Tampa Bay Lightning has played 26 games with the Lightning in a limited bottom-six role this season and has scored 2 points ( 1 G, 1 A ) and 4 PIMs.

Goncalves is only 23, and has a cheap league minimum deal and could be useful to add to the depth in Hartford if GM Chris Drury feels it's necessary.

Or they could simple utilize the claim to add Devin Shore, in order to add more grittiness to the bottom-six, but with Adam Edstrom's ascendancy and Rempe's performance Goncalves could be the better option.