Harvey-Pinard has cleared waivers and been assigned to Laval (AHL).
NHL Hockey Player News
Harvey-Pinard has been placed on waivers with the purpose of a loan to Laval (AHL).
Waiver Move
Ilya Nikolaev has been released from his contract with the Calgary Flames.
Nikolaev was the third-round pick, 88th overall, of the Calgary Flames in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. The 23-year-old has never played an NHL game and scored four points (0G / 4A) in nine games with the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) this season.
Edmonton has claimed Kasperi Kapanen from the St. Louis Blues.
Kapanen struggled to establish himself with the Blues, in and out of the lineup this season, being limited to only one point (1G / 0A) in 10 games, resulting in him being placed on waivers. He has 23 points (7G / 16A) in 83 total games with the Blues over the previous two seasons.
Kapanen has been placed on waivers.
Kapanen has struggled to establish himself with the Blues, in and out of the lineup this season, being limited to only one point (1G / 0A) in 10 games while averaging 11:19 time-on-ice through 10 games. He has 23 points (7G / 16A) in 83 total games with the Blues over the previous two seasons.
Waiver Move
Buffalo has claimed James Reimer off of waivers from Anaheim.
Reimer was signed by the Anaheim Ducks in the offseason and played two games with them (0-2-0), recording a 4.50 GAA and .864 SV%. The veteran Reimer provides some goaltending depth for a Sabres club that is temporarily without starting goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (undisclosed).
Waiver Move
Kahkonen has been reclaimed by the Winnipeg Jets from Colorado.
Kahkonen was placed on waivers by the Jets earlier this season and claimed by the Avalanche. The 28-year-old Kahkonen had one game to prove himself in an Avalanche uniform but allowed four goals on 20 shots (.800 SV%) in a losing effort and was placed back on waivers, reclaimed by the Jets. Kahkonen had a poor 2023-24 campaign split between the San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils, posting a 3.64 GAA and .898 SV%.
Waiver Move
Benning has been placed on waivers on Monday.
Benning was acquired in a trade earlier this season that sent Timothy Liljegren to the San Jose Sharks. The 30-year-old Benning has not played a single game with the Maple Leafs since the trade and had zero points, 10 blocks, and nine hits in seven games with the Sharks.
Athanasiou has been placed on waivers with purpose of reassignment.
Athanasiou, a one-time 30-goal scorer, has been placed on waivers by the Blackhawks. The 30-year-old Athanasiou scored 30 goals in 76 games in the 2018-19 season but has only scored 54 in 244 games since. He has zero points in five games this season.
The Blue Jackets have claimed Dante Fabbro off waivers from the Predators.
Fabbro has spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Nashville Predators, the team that drafted him 17th overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. The 26-year-old Fabbro was in and out of the lineup with the Predators this season, recording zero points and a -3 plus/minus in six games.
Fabbro has been placed on waivers by the Nashville Predators.
Svejkovsky has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purposes of contract termination.
Svejkovsky was a fourth-round pick of the Penguins in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 22-year-old has never played an NHL game and has 20 points (6G / 14A) in 70 career AHL games between the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Syracuse Crunch.
Waiver Move
Novak has been placed on waivers for the purpose of contract termination.
Novak was a fifth-round pick of the Minnesota Wild in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 22-year-old made his North American professional hockey debut last season, splitting time between the Iowa Heartlanders (ECHL) and the Iowa Wild (AHL).
Ryan (lower-body) has been placed on waivers for the purpose of reassignment.
Ryan has not played an NHL game since the 2020-21 NHL season and will likely debut in the AHL this season after being placed on waivers for the purpose of being reassigned to the Chicago Wolves (AHL). The 31-year-old Ryan has 24 points (4G / 20A) in 145 career NHL games.
Waiver Move
Husso has been placed on waivers on Sunday.
Three days after allowing four goals on 14 shots (.714 SV%) in the Red Wings' season opener, Ville Husso has been placed on waivers. The 29-year-old carries a $4.75 million cap hit this season and is expected to be sent to Grand Rapids if unclaimed on Monday.
Waiver Move
Colorado has claimed Kahkonen off waivers from Winnipeg.
The Avalanche have added some depth to their goaltending position behind Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen by claiming Kahkonen from the Winnipeg Jets. Kahkonen had a poor 2023-24 campaign split between the San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils, posting a 3.64 GAA and .898 SV%, but could get an opportunity at the crease in Colorado if Georgiev and Annunen are unable to provide consistent efforts.
Waiver Move
Vegas has reclaimed Raphael Lavoie off waivers from Edmonton and assigned him to Henderson (AHL).
Lavoie has had a whirlwind start to his 2024-25 campaign. Lavoie was signed to a one-year, two-way contract extension by the Edmonton Oilers in the offseason, placed on waivers last week, claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights, re-claimed by the Oilers, and ultimately claimed again by the Golden Knights. The 24-year-old was Edmonton's 2019 2nd-round pick (38th overall) and has appeared in seven games with the Oilers since making his debut last season. In 66 games with Bakersfield (AHL) in 2023-24, he had 28 goals, 50 points and 64 PIMs in 66 games played.
Waiver Move
Edmonton has re-claimed Raphael Lavoie off waivers from Vegas.
Lavoie was signed to a one-year, two-way contract extension in the offseason, placed on waivers last week, claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights, and ultimately re-claimed by the Oilers. The 24-year-old was Edmonton's 2019 2nd-round pick (38th overall) and has appeared in seven games with the Oilers since making his debut last season. In 66 games with Bakersfield (AHL) in 2023-24, he had 28 goals, 50 points and 64 PIMs in 66 games played.
The Blue Jackets claimed Zach Aston-Reese off waivers from the Golden Knights.
Aston-Reese signed a one-year, two-way contract with Vegas in the offseason but has been claimed off waivers by Columbus on Monday. The 29-year-old carries a $775,000 cap hit into the 2024-25 season and should provide much-needed depth for the Blue Jackets offence. In three games with Detroit in 2023-24, he failed to pick up a point while averaging only 5:09 TOI/GP.
Waiver Move
The Golden Knights claimed Raphael Lavoie off waivers from the Oilers.
Vegas made another waiver claim on Monday as they scooped up right-winger Raphael Lavoie from Edmonton. The 24-year-old was Edmonton's 2019 2nd-round pick (38th overall) and has appeared in seven games with the Oilers since making his debut last season. In 66 games with Bakersfield (AHL) in 2023-24, he had 28 goals, 50 points and 64 PIMs in 66 games played.
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.