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NHL Waiver Wire

Jack Finley(C)|STL
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
St. Louis has claimed Jack Finley from Tampa Bay on Saturday.

With the NHL rosters frozen for the Olympic break, Jack Finley will not have to report to St. Louis until after February 17th after the 23-year-old was claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay on Saturday. The rookie forward was drafted by Tampa in the 2nd round of the 2020 NHL Draft (57th overall) and had two goals, three points and 21 PIMs in a limited role (8:25 TOI/GP) with Tampa this season.

Source:
Elliotte Friedman 2026-02-07T20:08:28.800Z
Jack Finley
Egor Zamula(D)|CBJ
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
Zamula is being placed on unconditional waivers for a contract termination.

Pittsburgh recently acquired Zamula in a trade, but he failed to report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) and has since been placed on waivers with the intention of terminating his contract. The 25-year-old defenseman averaged 14:02 time-on-ice and recorded one assist in 13 games with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Source:
Chris Johnston 2026-01-05T19:06:35.557Z
Egor Zamula
David Tomasek(RW)|FA
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
The Oilers will be placing David Tomasek on waivers on Sunday for the purpose of contract termination.

Tomasek signed with the Oilers in the offseason after a lengthy career in Europe. He scored three goals with two assists (five points) in 22 games, but had been a healthy scratch for the last six games. He's expected to return to Farjestads BK Karlstad, where he led the team with 57 points (24G / 33A) in 47 games last season.

Source:
Edmonton Oilers 2025-12-27T12:54:08.771Z
David Tomasek
Vladislav Kolyachonok(D)|DAL
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
Boston has claimed Vladislav Kolyachonok from Dallas off of waivers.

Kolyachonok started this season in the AHL, but injuries on the Dallas blueline awarded him the opportunity to make his team debut last month. The 24-year-old played in 11 games with Dallas, scoring three points (1G / 2A), but with regulars returning to the lineup, Kolyachonok found himself out of the lineup and ultimately on waivers. He joins a Bruins team that has battled its own share of blueline injuries.

Source:
Elliotte Friedman 2025-12-16T19:19:58.850Z
Vladislav Kolyachonok
Jonatan Berggren(RW)|STL
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
St. Louis has claimed Jonatan Berggren from Detroit off waivers.

Berggren was drafted 33rd overall by the Red Wings in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft but had trouble establishing himself with them at the NHL level and was ultimately placed on waivers. The 25-year-old forward had six points (2G / 4A) in 15 games this season and hopes to solidify himself as a full-time NHLer with the Blues.

Source:
Elliotte Friedman 2025-12-16T19:15:37.372Z
Jonatan Berggren
Cayden Primeau(G)|CAR
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
Toronto has placed Cayden Primeau on waivers.

Primeau has struggled with the Maple Leafs this season, posting an ugly 4.30 GAA and .838 SV% in three games (2-1-0). He could be recalled by the Maple Leafs after playing a game with the Marlies on Friday, but his time with the NHL club is likely coming to an end, as Joseph Woll is nearing a return to the lineup.

Source:
Chris Johnston 2025-11-07T20:04:39.010Z
Cayden Primeau
Vincent Iorio(D)|NYR
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
San Jose has claimed Vincent Iorio from Washington off waivers.

Iorio was Washington's 55th-overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft but had trouble solidifying an NHL role with the team, limited to nine total games. The 22-year-old had 20 points (5G / 15A) in 67 games with the Hershey Bears (AHL) last season and will try to establish himself with a young Sharks team. He is expected to meet the Sharks in Utah for their game on Friday.

Source:
Bailey Johnson 2025-10-16T19:09:38.973Z
Vincent Iorio
Donovan Sebrango(D)|FLA
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
Florida has claimed Donovan Sebrango from Ottawa off waivers.

With the announcement that Dmitry Kulikov (upper-body) will be sidelined for five months, the Panthers have opted to claim Donovan Sebrango off of waivers from the Ottawa Senators. The 23-year-old defenseman spent most of the 2024-25 campaign in the AHL, tallying 20 points (8G / 12A) in 50 games with the Belleville Senators.

Source:
Bruce Garrioch 2025-10-15T18:14:25.047Z
Donovan Sebrango
Curtis Douglas(C)|TBL
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
Tampa Bay has claimed Curtis Douglas off waivers from Utah.

Douglas was a fourth-round pick of the Dallas Stars in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft but he has yet to make his NHL debut. The 25-year-old forward has spent the previous several seasons in the AHL, including scoring 23 points (10G / 13A) in 63 games with the Tucson Roadrunners in 2024-25.

Source:
Diandra Loux 2025-10-06T18:44:01.075Z
Curtis Douglas
Colten Ellis(G)|BUF
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
Buffalo has claimed Colten Ellis from St. Louis off waivers.

Ellis was the 93rd overall pick of the Blues in 2019 NHL Entry Draft. The 25-year-old goalie has yet to play an NHL game but could get an opportunity this season with Buffalo. He had a solid 2.63 GAA and .922 SV% in 42 games (22-14-3) last season with the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL).

Source:
Elliotte Friedman 2025-10-06T18:33:34.904Z
Colten Ellis

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.