The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed netminder Cayden Primeau on waivers, according to The Athletic’s Chris Johnston. Primeau, 26, was originally claimed off of waivers by the Maple Leafs on Oct. 6, as expected tandem goalie Joseph Woll had stepped away from the team to take a leave of absence on Sept. 23. Now, Woll has returned to the team and is nearing a full return to the NHL, a development that will, as expected, push Primeau off of the Maple Leafs’ NHL roster.
TSN’s Mark Masters reported today that Woll is going to play an AHL conditioning stint this weekend, meaning that while Primeau has been waived today, he may remain on the Maple Leafs’ NHL roster for a few more days while Woll is on his conditioning stint, assuming Primeau clears, of course.
Complicating his chances of clearing waivers is the fact that he was originally acquired by the Maple Leafs via waivers – meaning if the Carolina Hurricanes are the only team to claim Primeau, they would be free to claim him and then assign him to their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.
While Primeau does come with a relatively hefty AHL price tag attached (he’s playing on a one-way, $775k deal), the Hurricanes could use some veteran support in their crease in Chicago. Their two incumbent goalies, Nikita Quapp and Amir Miftakhov,each have very little North American pro experience, so the addition of Primeau could go a long way in stabilizing that team’s goaltending situation. The Hurricanes also traded a draft pick (a 2026 seventh-rounder) to the Montreal Canadiens to acquire Primeau, so the Hurricanes may be motivated by that cost to re-add Primeau now that he’s available on waivers once again.
That’s not to say there’s no chance Primeau gets claimed by another team. While he has struggled at the NHL level in limited ice time this season (.838 save percentage in 3 games), he did post a solid .910 save percentage in 23 games in 2023-24 and looked like he was on track to become a solid backup goaltender, especially considering his track record in the AHL and in the NCAA. Another team in need of an additional goaltender could look at today’s waiver placement as an opportunity to add a goalie with some experience to their NHL roster.
he’ll probably be picked up, Florida makes sense or Tampa, maybe San Jose, Edmonton especially with Pickard’s bad start
Why would any of these teams want Primeau? They all have options better than him in their system.
Canes wouldn’t pick him up regardless. They have depth at the NHL lever with 3 goalies on the roster.
wonder what this means for Sunday if he’s claimed. doubt stolarz goes B2B.
Would assume Hildeby recalled in his place. Woll is on LTIR so he won’t take up roster spot while on conditioning stint.
Seems odd that they wouldn’t just wait until Woll is ready just in case Primeau is claimed. But I guess this indicates that they have more faith in Hildeby. Can’t blame them either. Primeau really stinks.
next leaf start will go to the shooter tutor they use in practice