Former Maple Leafs Forward Officially Placed on Waivers

The Chicago Blackhawks appear poised to demote a former Leafs player, placing forward Joey Anderson on waivers earlier today. The former third round pick has yet to play this season due to a lower body injury.

Anderson was originally drafted by the New Jersey Devils in 2016, where he spent the first 2 seasons of his professional career. After failing to secure a contract with the club, they decided to trade him to Toronto in 2020 for Andreas Johansson.

With the Leafs, Anderson played in 20 contests at the NHL-level between 2020 and 2023, where he added 2 goals and an assist. He was far more productive in the minors, where he collected 47 goals and 80 points in 106 games.

His AHL production might have done just enough to boost his trade value as he was packaged to Chicago ahead of the trade deadline in 2023 alongside Pavel Gogolev and 2 future picks for Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty.

It was the same story with the Blackhawks as Anderson produced far better numbers in the AHL. To his credit, he posted career high numbers across the board with 55 games played, 5 goals scored, 12 assists, and 17 total points all in 2023-24.

He was unable to replicate that level of success in 2024-25 as he totalled just 1 assist in 18 NHL contests. He was better served with Rockford in the AHL, where he scored 17 goals and 27 points in just 33 games.

Now on waivers, Anderson could be claimed by another team looking for AHL depth, however, there's a very good chance he goes unclaimed and remains in the Blackhawks organization.