Stars reclaim Rémi Poirier off waivers from Capitals

An eventful year in the life of goaltender Remi Poirier continues.

The league announced that the Dallas Stars claimed Poirier off waivers on Monday after he was placed on the wire on Sunday by the Washington Capitals.

Poirier, 25, now returns to the organization that drafted him and with which he began this season before a series of transactions. The Stars waived him at the end of training camp and the preseason with the intent to assign him to their AHL affiliate Texas Stars, but he was claimed by the New Jersey Devils, who had considerable organizational need for goaltending depth at the time.

The Devils then landed super star workhorse Connor Hellebuyck in a blockbuster trade, and shortly thereafter sent Poirier to the Capitals in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.

Now, he returns to the Stars, who chose him with the No. 185 overall selection in the sixth round of the 2020 draft. The Quebec native turned pro after wrapping up his major junior career with the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL in 2021-22.

Poirier has yet to appear in a game at the NHL or AHL level this season. Last year with Texas, he posted a 27-19-8 record with a .912 save percentage and 2.61 in the regular season before following that up with a 2-3-0 run in the Calder Cup Playoffs with a .883 SV% and 2.92 GAA.

The Stars have gotten quality goaltending at the NHL level this season from starter Jake Oettinger (.906 SV%, 1.99 GAA, 13 appearances) and backup Casey DeSmith (.909 SV%, 2.42 GAA, 4 appearances) as the team is off to a solid 10-5-2 start to the season that has them six points back of the Minnesota Wild for first place in the Central Division with two games in hand.

Dallas is idle until Thursday night when it will host a divisional showdown against the Winnipeg Jets.