Blackhawks Claim Defenseman Off Waivers From Kraken

The Chicago Blackhawks have claimed defenseman Jaycob Megna off of waivers from the Seattle Kraken.

Megna, 31, was placed on waivers on Jan. 2. The 6-foot-6 defenseman has yet to play an NHL game this season and only appeared in two games in the AHL this season on a conditioning assignment, scoring a goal. Now, the Florida native is set to get his NHL season as a Blackhawk and should see decent minutes when looking at their defensive group.

Megna had a solid season during the 2022-23 campaign split between the San Jose Sharks and Seattle Kraken. In 54 games split between the two clubs, he had a career-high 12 points to go along with a plus-1 rating. Now, he will look to build off of this season with the Blackhawks from here.

Megna will give the Blackhawks' blue line a bit more bite and overall depth. With the Blackhawks well out of the playoff race, this waiver addition is not too major for their season, but there is also no harm in taking a shot on Megna after how he did last season.

If Megna performs well for the Blackhawks, he could even be a decent trade chip at the deadline. We will need to wait and see how he does with the Original Six team from here.