Jets claim Clay Stevenson off waivers from Capitals
The Winnipeg Jets have claimed goaltender Clay Stevenson off waivers from the Washington Capitals, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Monday afternoon.
Stevenson, 27, split the 2025-26 regular season between the Capitals and the AHL’s Hershey Bears. The 6’4″ netminder went 3-1-0 with a .921 save percentage in four NHL appearances with the Capitals; in 37 games with the Bears, he posted an 18-13-3 record with a .912 save percentage.
A product of Drayton Valley, Alta., Stevenson is now guaranteed to start the 2026-27 season on Winnipeg’s NHL roster. With Connor Hellebuyck still on a team-imposed suspension and Domenic DiVincentiis exempt from waivers, it appears the Jets will break camp with a goaltending tandem of Stuart Skinner and Stevenson.
Stevenson has one year remaining on his current contract, which carries an $850,000 NHL cap hit. He can become an unrestricted free agent upon the conclusion of the 2026-27 season.
An undrafted player, Stevenson played his junior hockey with the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express before heading to Dartmouth College for the 2021-22 season. After just one season in the NCAA, Stevenson turned pro with the Capitals organization, spending most of the 2022-23 campaign with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays before establishing himself as Hunter Shepard’s tandem partner in Hershey during the Bears’ 2023-24 Calder Cup season. Stevenson made his NHL debut with the Capitals late in the 2024-25 season, stopping 33 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Apr. 17, 2025.
In 109 career AHL games across parts of four seasons with Hershey, Stevenson has compiled a 63-31-18 record to go along with nine shutouts and a .909 save percentage. He’s gone 4-4 with a .913 save percentage in nine playoff appearances with the Bears.
The other 70 players waived on Sunday all cleared and are now eligible to be assigned to the AHL. Stevenson will likely serve as Skinner’s backup when the Jets open their 2026-27 season against the Boston Bruins on Oct. 2 at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.
