43 NHL players placed on waivers for Oct. 5
With the 2025-26 regular season closing in, a few players narrowly missed making opening night rosters.
On Sunday, 43 NHL players were placed on waivers, making them available to the other 31 teams across the league.
The big story of the day on the wire is the number of goaltenders with NHL experience. The Boston Bruins placed Michael DiPietro on waivers, with Kaapo Kahkonen (Montreal Canadiens), Nico Daws (New Jersey Devils), Mads Sogaard (Ottawa Senators), and Clay Stevenson (Washington Capitals) among the notable names put on waivers on Sunday.
Daws is one of the aforementioned names that has been gaining attention from other franchises. It was just two years ago that the 24-year-old played most of the season with the Devils. Last year, he played in just six games for New Jersey, spending most of the time with New Jersey’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Utica Comets.
Daws is heading into the final season of his two-year contract that he signed in July 2024. The deal carries a cap hit of $812,500. In 52 NHL appearances, he has a career record of 22-23-1, with a 2.98 goals-against average, a .898 save percentage and one shutout.
Sogaard is another goaltender who played considerable minutes in the NHL in the past, once making 17 starts for the Sens in 2022-23. Yet, despite spending most of his young career in the AHL, the Danish backstop has the potential to be an everyday NHLer. In 29 career games, has a record of 11-11-3, with a 3.55 GAA and an .879 SV%.
Sogaard is also heading into the final season of his two-year contract, which has an NHL AAV of $775,000.
Stevenson hasn’t had a ton of experience in the NHL, but his success in the minors makes people wonder what he can do at the next level. He was part of the Hershey Bears team that won the AHL’s Calder Cup in 2023-24, and went 16-8-5 with the Bears this past year. He made his NHL debut on April 17 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, giving up five goals on 38 shots in a losing effort.
Stevenson is in the second season of his three-year contract, with a cap hit of $775,000.
Here’s the full list of players placed on waivers on Sunday:
Boston Bruins: Jonathan Aspirot, Matej Blumel, Michael DiPietro, Alex Steeves
Buffalo Sabres: Joshua Dunne
Carolina Hurricanes: Cayden Primeau
Colorado Avalanche: Jack Ahcan, Keaton Middleton
Detroit Red Wings: Erik Gustafsson, Justin Holl
Edmonton Oilers: Max Jones
Florida Panthers: Jack Studnicka
Minnesota Wild: Cal Petersen, Tyler Pitlick
Montreal Canadiens: Sammy Blais, Kaapo Kahkonen
New Jersey Devils: Calen Addison, Nico Daws, Jonathan Gruden, Mike Hardman, Nathan Legare
Ottawa Senators: Hayden Hodgson, Jan Jenik, Arthur Kaliyev, Olle Lycksell, Mads Sogaard, Lassi Thompson
Philadelphia Flyers: Carl Grundstrom
San Jose Sharks: Pavol Regenda
Seattle Kraken: John Hayden
St. Louis Blues: Colton Ellis, Hunter Skinner
Tampa Bay Lightning: Declan Carlile
Toronto Maple Leafs: Matt Benning, Dakota Mermis, Michael Pezzetta, Henry Thrun
Utah Mammoth: Curtis Douglas
Vegas Golden Knights: Jonas Rondbjerg
Washington Capitals: Ethen Frank, Clay Stevenson
Winnipeg Jets: Walker Duehr, Ville Heinola
Of the 17 players who were placed on waivers on Saturday, only goaltender Brandon Bussi was claimed by the Hurricanes from the Panthers. The rest are eligible to join their respective AHL teams.