NHL Waiver Wire

Joe Veleno(C)|SEA
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
Seattle has placed Joe Veleno on unconditional waivers for the purposes of a buyout.

After being acquired from Chicago earlier in the week (for Andre Burakovsky), Joe Veleno has been placed on unconditional waivers by Seattle for the purposes of a buyout. The 25-year-old forward is in the 2nd year of a 2-year, $4.55 million contract and will incur a hit of $2,275,000 AAV in the 2025-26 season.

Source:
Seattle Kraken PR 2025-06-29T16:06:57.373Z
Joe Veleno
Marc-Edouard Vlasic(D)|SJS
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
San Jose has waived Marc-Edouard Vlasic for the purposes of a contract buyout.

After 1323 games played and 19 seasons in San Jose, it appears Marc-Edouard Vlasic's time as a Shark will come to an end after it was announced on Thursday that the team planned on waiving the veteran for the purpose of a contract buyout. The 38-year-old was set to start the final season of an eight-year, $56 million contract ($8 million AAV). He appeared in 27 games in 2024-25, picking up a goal, and three points to go along with a -10 plus/minus.

Source:
Elliotte Friedman 2025-06-26T17:14:38.585Z
Marc-Edouard Vlasic
T.J. Brodie(D)|CHI
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
T.J. Brodie clears unconditional waivers and will have his contract bought out by Chicago.

Brodie signed a two-year, $7.5 million contract last offseason but will be bought out by Chicago as they continue to clear up cap space for the July 1st free agency period. The 35-year-old will cost the Blackhawks $3.23 million in 2025-26 and $258,000 in 2026-27. Brodie's forgettable time with Chicago ends after just one season with two goals, 10 points and a -18 plus/minus in 54 games.

Source:
Chris Johnston 2025-06-22T17:26:59.736Z
T.J. Brodie
T.J. Brodie(D)|CHI
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
Chicago has placed T.J. Brodie on waivers for the purpose of a buyout.

Brodie signed a two-year, $7.5 million contract last offseason and is expected to be bought out by Chicago as they continue to clear up cap space for the July 1st free agency period. The 35-year-old will cost the Blackhawks $3.23 million in 2025-26 and $258,000 in 2026-27. Brodie's forgettable time with Chicago ends after just one season with two goals, 10 points and a -18 plus/minus in 54 games.

Source:
Elliotte Friedman 2025-06-22T17:29:38.220Z
T.J. Brodie
Andrew Poturalski(C)|SJS
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
San Jose has released Andrew Poturalski from his professional contract.

San Jose announced Friday that Andrew Poturalski has been released from his professional contract as he attempts to sign in Europe and continue his career across the border. The 31-year-old winger appeared in three total games with San Jose in 2024-25 and picked up 1 assist, but spent the majority of the season with the Barracuda (AHL), where he excelled with 30 goals and 73 points in 59 games.

Source:
Sheng Peng 2025-06-01T19:10:19.072Z
Andrew Poturalski
Jakub Vrana(LW)|FA
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
Nashville has claimed Jakub Vrana off waivers from Washington on Thursday.

Vrana had only cracked the Capitals' lineup once since early January and had been placed on waivers on Wednesday. The 29-year-old Vrana is averaging only 9:50 time-on-ice and has 11 points (7G / 4A) in 26 games this season and could get a more prominent role on a Predators team struggling offensively.

Source:
Chris Johnston 2025-03-06T19:18:07.155Z
Jakub Vrana
Christian Fischer(RW)|FA
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
Columbus has claimed Christian Fischer off waivers from Detroit.

Fischer was a lineup-regular for the Red Wings this season but found himself on waivers Wednesday, ultimately being claimed by the Blue Jackets on Thursday. The 27-year-old forward is averaged 11:09 time-on-ice and had seven points (1G / 6A) in 45 games this season with the Red Wings.

Source:
Frank Seravalli 2025-03-06T19:17:20.099Z
Christian Fischer
Travis Dermott(D)|FA
Waiver Move
Waiver Move
Edmonton has claimed Travis Dermott off waivers from Minnesota.

Dermott started the season with Edmonton but was placed on waivers and claimed by Minnesota. Now, Edmonton has reclaimed him after Minnesota placed him on waivers on Tuesday. Dermott had only played one of the previous 13 games for Minnesota. The 28-year-old Dermott averaged 11:23 time-on-ice, recording zero points and six blocks in nine games with Minnesota this season.

Source:
Frank Seravalli 2025-02-26T19:12:30.451Z
Travis Dermott

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.