Which early season NHL waiver claims can be the most impactful?
Back during the preseason, we looked at some under-the-radar players worth keeping an eye on as the waiver wire heated up.
Of them, Carolina’s Justin Robidas, Colorado’s Fabian Lysell and New Jersey’s David Rittich all found themselves on the wire but went unclaimed. The other two – Boston’s Matthew Poitras and Chicago’s Ethan Del Mastro – remain in the NHL, and both have seen some NHL duty. According to PuckPedia, nearly 250 players have been placed on waivers since the start of the season. A total of six have been claimed, with a few seeing action with their new teams already.
Today, we’re breaking down the six players who found themselves claimed this year, and what their roles could look like moving forward:
Andreas Englund, LHD, 30 (Detroit Red Wings)
Calgary Flames fans were quite surprised to see Englund claimed by the Red Wings. By all accounts, the depth defender looked destined to head back to the AHL, as he did for most of 2025-26. Outside of the full 82-game run in 2023-24 with Los Angeles, Englund has struggled to stick around in the NHL and has mostly been used for physical roles. But with Simon Edvinsson hanging out in Sweden, the Red Wings needed an extra body on the blueline, so they snagged Englund and his $900,000 cap hit. Englund made his season debut against Winnipeg on Oct. 10 and registered a whole lot of nothing in 7:15 of ice time. Englund fills a specific role, no doubt about it, but he’s hardly an everyday NHLer. It’ll be interesting to see how Englund’s chances compare to William Wallinder.
William Trudeau, LHD, 23 (Nashville Predators)
Trudeau spent four years in the Montreal Canadiens‘ system, where he proved to be a reliable defender for the Laval Rocket. There was no pathway for him to make the Habs, though, so he was shipped out to the New York Rangers during the 2026 NHL Draft weekend before signing a contract extension. Trudeau never played for the Rangers before getting claimed on waivers by Nashville, who then made his NHL dreams come true with his debut against the Dallas Stars on Oct. 3. Trudeau has looked decent in a bottom-pair role, providing rush support while being defensively responsible. There are no real standout qualities to his game, but he doesn’t make a ton of mistakes, either. Trudeau is a confident blueliner who should continue in a No. 6/7 role for a bit, but it’s nice to see him finally getting a chance to prove himself. Unfortunately, he was banged up on Thursday, so we’ll see what happens from here.
Remi Poirier, G, 25 (New Jersey Devils)
Poirier was a sixth-round pick by the Stars in 2020, but he looked like a legit goalie prospect the past few years. He’s coming off his best AHL season to date – a 27-19-8 run through 52 games. It’s not often that you see a goalie get that much playing time, but he heavily outperformed both Arno Tiefensee and Ben Kraws and stole more than a handful of games for Texas. Poirier never seemed to have a clear path to the NHL, and despite a pair of call-ups over a four-year span, he never got a chance with the big club. The Devils ultimately claimed him prior to the start of the year and haven’t sent him down. It’s a bit fascinating, given they have Nico Daws as Jake Allen’s backup and veteran David Rittich is sitting in Utica right now. Poirier has legit potential as a No. 2, and this was a high-upside move by GM Sunny Mehta – a guy who never wanted to invest much into goaltending anyway. But… what’s the plan here?
Justin Barron, RHD, 24 (St. Louis Blues)
Barron was once a promising prospect who looked like a legit top-four candidate back in Colorado. He was ultimately shipped out to Montreal in 2021-22, and a year later, he’d put up 15 points in 39 games with the club. Barron seemed destined for a full-time gig the following year, but still spent significant time in the AHL. The Canadiens later traded him to Nashville for Alexandre Carrier; Carrier went on to become an impactful defender for the Habs, while Barron struggled to find his footing. He had a difficult 2025-26 that saw him fail to score a goal and register just nine points in 52 games – his lowest output in a season with at least 10 games played. The Blues elected to take a chance on the 24-year-old, and he just made his debut on Thursday against San Jose. Barron can still handle depth duties, and it feels like it’s only a matter of time until the Blues give him a look. He’s nothing more than a third-pair option at this point in his career, but he’s more than capable of taking space away with his speed while getting the puck down the ice.
Leevi Meriläinen, G, 24 (Vancouver Canucks)
There was a time a few years ago when Meriläinen looked like Ottawa’s goalie of the future. He was excellent in his 12-game run with the Sens in 2024-25, going 8-3-1 with three shutouts and a .925 save percentage. The advanced analytics were nothing to get excited about, though, and when he struggled to find consistency in both the NHL and AHL last year, it was clear Meriläinen’s future was uncertain (the mid-season James Reimer signing didn’t help, either). The Senators picked up Samuel Ersson over the summer, leaving Meriläinen as the odd man out heading into 2026-27. He ultimately got snagged off waivers by Vancouver, who needed someone to fill in while Thatcher Demko was injured. Meriläinen played solidly in his regular-season debut with Vancouver, allowing one goal in an eventual 9-7 loss to Edmonton (the rest were on Kevin Lankinen). Meriläinen then delivered an impressive effort two nights later against Calgary. Those are the types of performances scouts know he is capable of; doing it consistently, though, is the bigger question. At this point, it’s entirely possible that Meriläinen can take over as starter if he gets hot. It’s also not unreasonable to think this could be his last true chance at a full-time NHL gig if things go south.
Clay Stevenson, G, 27 (Winnipeg Jets)
Many Washington Capitals fans wanted Stevenson to get a real chance at the backup gig over Charlie Lindgren. Stevenson impressed last year, going 3-1-0 with a .921 save percentage in four outings, while also being one of the AHL’s better veterans. The Capitals lost Stevenson to Winnipeg, who, given they’re missing one of the best goalies in the world, were hoping to bet high on the 27-year-old. Stevenson made a great first impression, making 30 saves in his season debut. It’s not a large sample size by any means, but his competitive nature and drive to make every single save, no matter what, is something that proved endearing to Caps fans in the past. The Jets are asking a lot of Stevenson and Stuart Skinner, and that could easily backfire. But for now, it’s nice to see Stevenson getting a legit chance after making it to the NHL as an undrafted free agent pickup (after just one year of college hockey).
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