Ah yes, the cause and effect of big money contracts in the NHL. Alex Semin got 5 years and $35 million from the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday; Jussi Jokinen got put on waivers on Tuesday, along with Tim Wallace.

Jokinen is signed through 2013-14 with a $3 million cap hit. He has five goals and five assists in 30 games, skating to a minus-7. His 15:30 is sixth among Carolina forwards and down significantly from his 17:40 TOI last season.

He’s also solid on faceoffs and one of the best shootout weapons in the NHL, which is an asset some teams might find desirable, even with about 15 potential shootouts left on their regular-season schedule.

Speaking of shootouts: Kaspars Daugavins is also on waivers.

The man behind the most controversial shootout attempt of the season was dropped on waivers by the Ottawa Senators, after scoring one goal and two assists in 19 games, skating to a minus-7 and averaging just 11:25 in TOI.

He’s a restricted free agent this summer.

Daugavins is a player with room to grow, and like Jokinen is an asset in the skills competition. Don Brennan doesn’t like the move: “What he lacks in stats he makes up for in character. Teammates love him.”

Also, we just learned how to pronounce his name, so there’s that, too.

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