NHL Hockey Player News

Andreas Johnsson has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract.

Johnsson is expected to have his contract terminated after being placed on unconditional waivers on Wednesday. The 28-year-old Sweed has had difficulty finding consistency at the NHL level despite showing flashes of high-pedigree play throughout his career. He has 116 points (48 G / 68A) in 259 career games.

Andreas Johnsson
Jack Campbell has been placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment.

After 41 unimpressive games with the Oilers over the past two seasons, posting a 3.53 GAA and .886 SV%, the team has placed Campbell on waivers for assignment. The Oilers, who were largely considered to be Stanley Cup contenders to start the season, are off to a dreadful start, winning only two of their first 11 games (2-8-1). The Oilers will likely recall Calvin Pickard from Bakersfield (AHL) once Campbell clears waivers and will turn to Stuart Skinner for starting duties in the interim.

Jack Campbell
Nashville has claimed Liam Foudy from Columbus off waivers.

Foudy was placed on waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday and claimed by Nashville Saturday. The 23-year-old was Columbus' 2018 first round draft pick (18th overall) and has played 90 games across five sporadic seasons with the Blue Jackets. Foudy had seven goals, seven assists, 67 SOG, eight PIMs and a -26 plus/minus in 62 games with Columbus in 2022-23.

Liam Foudy
Anaheim has claimed Ross Johnston off waivers from the New York Islanders.

Johnston was placed on waivers by the Islanders on Monday and claimed by Anaheim on Tuesday. The 29-year-old bruising left-winger carries an annual cap hit of $1.1 million and is expected to be an intimidating presence in the Ducks bottom-six. He had two assists, 37 PIMs, two SOG, and a -1 plus/minus in 16 games played with the Islanders in 2022-23. He leaves New York after seven seasons, nine goals, 15 assists, and 283 PIMs through 134 career games played.

Ross Johnston
Ottawa has claimed Lassi Thomson back from Anaheim a week after waiving him.

Thomson has experienced a unique week on the waiver wire. After being originally placed on waivers last week by Ottawa, he now finds himself back with the Senators after being placed on waivers again by Anaheim. Thomson, the 19th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, played 56 games last season for the Belleville Senators (AHL), recording 33 points (7G / 26A) in 56 games.

Lassi Thomson
Calgary has claimed A.J. Greer from the Boston Bruins.

Greer played his first full NHL season last year, tallying 12 points (5G / 7A) and 114 PIM in 61 games for the Bruins. The former 39th overall pick of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft will likely serve as a depth forward this season for the Flames.

A.J. Greer
Colorado has claimed Ivan Prosvetov from the Arizona Coyotes.

Prosvetov provides some much-needed organizational goaltending depth for Colorado, especially with the immediate health of Pavel Francouz (groin) being uncertain. Prosvetov has played most of the last four seasons for the Tuscon Roadrunners of the AHL but has seen some NHL action over that time as well. Last season, he played seven games (4-3-0) for the Arizona Coyotes, recording a 3.98 GAA and .880 SV%. With Justus Annunen being assigned to the AHL, it appears that Prosvetov will begin the season as the Avalanche backup goalie.

Ivan Prosvetov
Pittsburgh has claimed John Ludvig off waivers from Florida.

Ludvig was the 69th overall selection of the Florida Panthers in the NHL Entry Draft in 2019. He is unlikely to see much, if any, playing time in the NHL this season but adds some nice organizational depth for the Penguins' defensive core. Last season, Ludvig played 54 games for the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL where he recorded 17 points (3G / 14A).

John Ludvig
The Golden Knights claimed Grigori Denisenko off waivers from the Panthers.

Denisenko was placed on waivers by Florida and claimed on Saturday by the Vegas Golden Knights. The 23-year-old forward was the Panthers 2018 first-round pick (15th overall) and had three assists, four PIMs and a -5 plus/minus in 18 games with Florida in 2022-23. He has played sporadically across three seasons with the Panthers, picking up seven assists and eight PIMs in 26 career NHL games played.

Grigori Denisenko
Pittsburgh has claimed Jansen Harkins off waivers from Winnipeg.

Harkins had three goals, two assists, 18 SOG, 12 PIMs and a +4 plus/minus through 22 games with Winnipeg in 2022-23 but has been claimed off waivers Monday by Winnipeg after being placed on them by Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old centre played four NHL seasons in Winnipeg, scoring 13 goals and picking up 27 points across 154 NHL games played. He spent the majority of 2022-23 with Manitoba's AHL team picking up 25 goals and 50 points in 44 games but will hope to crack the Penguins' main unit to start the season.

Jansen Harkins
Nashville has claimed Samuel Fagemo off waivers from Los Angeles.

Fagemo had two goals, an assist, five SOG, and a -4 plus/minus through nine games with Los Angeles in 2022-23 and has been claimed off waivers by Nashville from the Kings. The 23-year-old left-winger played the majority of last season in the minors with the Ontario Reign (AHL) and had an impressive 23 goals, 32 points and a -24 plus/minus through 56 games last season. He was Los Angeles' 2019 second-round pick (50th overall).

Samuel Fagemo
The Ducks have claimed Lassi Thomson off waivers from the Senators.

Thomson was placed on waivers by Ottawa and claimed by Anaheim on Sunday. The 23-year-old defenseman was Ottawa's 2019 first-round draft pick (19th overall) and had played 18 NHL games in two seasons for the Senators, picking up five assists. Thomson spent the majority of 2022-23 with the Belleville Senators (AHL) and had seven goals, 26 assists, 28 PIMs and a -9 plus/minus through 56 games.

Lassi Thomson
San Jose has claimed Ty Emberson off waivers from the New York Rangers.

Emberson was placed on waivers by the New York Rangers and has been claimed by San Jose on Saturday. The 23-year-old defenseman has yet to appear in any NHL games in his career but was a 2018 third-round (73rd overall) draft pick to Arizona. In 2022-23 he had seven goals, 20 assists, 27 PIMs and a +17 plus/minus through 69 games with Hartford (AHL).

Ty Emberson
Columbus has claimed Spencer Martin off waivers from Vancouver.

On Thursday, Martin was placed on conditional waivers by Vancouver and claimed on Friday by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 28-year-old goaltender struggled in 2022-23 with the Canucks, posting an 11-15-1 record, 3.99 GAA and .871 SV%. He will be joining his third NHL team (COL, VAN) and should provide goaltending depth behind the Blue Jackets' starter Elvis Merzlikins.

Spencer Martin
The Ducks have claimed Scott Harrington off waivers from the Devils.

Harrington was traded from San Jose as part of the Timo Meier blockbuster move and was subsequently waived the same day only to be claimed by the Anaheim Ducks Tuesday. The 29-year-old defenseman has a goal, six assists, 22 SOG and a -7 plus/minus through 28 games with the San Jose Sharks this season.

Scott Harrington
The Canadiens have claimed Chris Tierney off waivers from the Panthers.

Tierney had two goals, an assist, six SOG, two PIMs and a -1 plus/minus through 13 games with the Florida Panthers but was claimed off waivers by Montreal Thursday. The 28-year-old has 229 points (75G.154A) through 574 career NHL games played.

Chris Tierney

NHL Waiver Wire

The NHL implemented the waiver wire to uphold a “competitive balance” in the league. Before the waiver wire, clubs hoarded players and ensured their opponents couldn’t access them. Those players would get sent to the minors and basically get buried, stunting any chance for them to make a name for themselves in the big league. As you can imagine, not only was hoarding players in the minors a hindrance to other teams, but it was also a hindrance to the players themselves. Eventually, things had to change, and that’s when the NHL waiver wire came into play: no longer can a player be buried in the minors (unless nobody wants them).

Types of Waivers

Nevertheless, the NHL wavier wire can be a bit nuanced to a newcomer. Don’t worry, we break it down and do a quick deep dive into the nuts and bolts.

Regular NHL Waivers

Teams will use what NHL executives call “regular waivers” to move players to the minors. Players on entry-level contracts are usually waiver wire exempt, which means teams can send them up and down as they please without risking them being claimed by another team. Players who aren’t waiver wire exempt will usually make the headlines since they can be placed on waivers. Most players playing in the minors are waiver wire exempt. That’s why they get sent up and down so freely throughout the course of a season. Obviously, it’s on a case-by-case basis.

Return Waivers

“Re-entry waivers” used to exist before the NHL and the NHLPA eliminated the clause in the 2012 collective bargaining agreement. The clause was originally put in place because some teams would bury players in the minors, hoping they would pick up their game a bit and call them back up. If such a great thing happened, the team could call them back up without penalty. Too many teams learned to hoard players, so to encourage fairness and do right by the players, the return or “re-entry waivers process” was implemented. When ironing out a new CBA, both sides wanted to tinker with the waiver wire process. A part of that tinkering was getting rid of “re-entry waivers.”

Unconditional Waivers

When a team puts a player on unconditional waivers, it’s usually because the team wants to terminate their contract or buy them out. A contract termination can come about because a player breached their contract. In other words, as a disciplinary action. The more common form is a buyout. The player didn’t breach their contract; it’s just the management most likely determined the player sucks and wants to get rid of as much of the player’s cap hit as humanly possible.

A Quick Word On One and Two-Way Contracts

There’s a common misconception that NHL fans make when referring to one and two-way contracts. What some fans think is if a player is on a one-way deal, they can’t be sent to the minors without going through waivers. Players who are signed to two-way deals can be sent back and forth to the minors freely. Without getting too far into the nuts and bolts, that’s not always the case. You can blame EA Sports’ “Be A GM” mode for that belief.

Generally, a one-way deal ensures that players’ salaries remain the same whether they’re in the minors or the NHL. For example, if a goalie makes $3.55 million in the NHL and gets sent down to the AHL because he couldn’t stop a beach ball, he’ll still make the full $3.55 million in the minors. A player who’s on a two-way contract makes a higher salary in the NHL and a lower one in the AHL. One and two-way deals don’t solely determine waiver wire eligibility.

Time Restrictions Around NHL Waivers

The waiver wire goes into effect 12 days before the start of the regular season and lasts until the day after a team’s regular season is over. Any moves after that are more or less off the books unless certain conditions are met. Then, things get tricky.

When a player gets put on the waiver wire, there’s a 24-hour period where other NHL teams can determine if they want to take a shot on the player and their contract. If a team wants to take a leap of faith and claim the forsaken player, they must wait and see which other teams make a claim. If the worst team in the league (based on the current standings and future projections) makes a claim and the best team also bites on the waived player, the worst team will get the player in the name of “fairness.”

It’s not very often that many teams make a claim on a single player because most teams use the waiver wire to clear cap space. That said, it does happen once or twice a season when a good team is forced to make a tough decision on a decent player.

Strategy Behind NHL Waivers

There are many reasons why NHL transactions will revolve around waiver wire moves. Below, we compiled those reasons and sought to explain the strategy behind each.

Salary Cap

As we alluded to earlier, most players are put on waivers because they’re not living up to their contracts. The front office of the team they play for wants to bury the contract in the minors to open up room for someone who’s worth the money. It’s a harsh truth, but the NHL is a business, and everyone is always looking for a good return on investment. If a player sucks, sometimes that’s what needs to happen, no matter how difficult it might be to pull off.

Contract Termination

For players who are on longer deals, burying them in the minors for the duration of their contract might not be worthwhile. It might just be easier to buy them out or even terminate their contract. Most of the time, when a player gets bought out, the team buying out the player must still pay a cap penalty. That said, it’s usually preferable for NHL executives rather than eating the cap hit and being unable to bolster their team via trades and free agency.

Bad contracts in the NHL are a dime a dozen, so front offices use things like unconditional waivers to move on from their mistakes. Of course, they still take a fat L, but in the same sense, they’ll get some flexibility and a chance to move on. So too does the player.

Moves to the Minor League

At the end of the day, all an NHL general manager really wants to do is send a player to the minors because they’re underperforming. It just so happens the player isn’t waiver wire exempt, and that’s the way she goes. Mind you, in those situations, many people in the front office will know that these players are less likely to get claimed because their value is limited to other teams. In that sense, NHL front offices will feel more comfortable making those moves.

Let’s be honest, even if these players get claimed, odds are they’ll be back on the waiver wire at some point during the season, in which they can be reclaimed. If not, as crappy as this may sound, the player is replaceable.