Winnipeg Jets claim Karson Kuhlman off of waivers

The Winnipeg Jets have claimed forward Karson Kuhlman off of the waiver wire.

Karson Kuhlman has played 14 games this year for the Seattle Kraken. In that span he has one goal and three points, along with a +3 rating. The undrafted forward was initially claimed off waivers from Boston by the Seattle Kraken. He has not quite asserted himself in the NHL yet and will get an opportunity to do so in Manitoba’s capital.

Kuhlman is an offensive-minded player who put up decent numbers in university as well as the American Hockey League. In four seasons with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Kuhlman scored 39 goals and 80 points in 166 games. From 2018-2021, he played various stints with the Providence Bruins, scoring 19 goals and 39 points in 74 AHL games.

The way waivers work in the NHL is every team gets put on a list based off the current standings in descending order, i.e. the 32nd place team getting first choice, etc. As the Jets are currently ranked sixth in the NHL standings, that means 26 NHL teams took a pass on Karson Kuhlman.

Seattle likely placed Kuhlman on waivers to make room for their new waivers addition, Eeli Tolvanen, who they picked up yesterday. The Jets did the Kraken a favor by opening up a roster spot on the Seattle lineup.

In Seattle, Kuhlman was stuck on the the fourth line, averaging under 10 minutes for the final fives games with the Kraken. In 14 games, he only played more than 12 minutes in a game twice, on Oct. 19 and 25. He had run out of runway in Seattle and the Jets are hoping they can “rebuild” him into a dependable bottom-six forward. If they fail to do so, he will likely find himself on waivers once again.