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Capitals Activate, Waive Spencer Smallman

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The Capitals have placed right winger Spencer Smallman on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Hershey, PuckPedia reports. That signals he’s been activated from season-opening injured reserve and is cleared to return from the undisclosed injury that kept him out of training camp.

Smallman, 28, has never cracked an NHL roster. His career began as a fifth-round pick of the Hurricanes in 2015. He spent his first five professional seasons playing for the organization’s AHL and ECHL affiliates before becoming a Group VI UFA in 2022 and signing with the Avalanche.

His time with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles didn’t yield him any NHL call-ups, but he did post a career-best 13 goals in 61 AHL games in 2022-23. The 6’1″, 198-lb winger is a decent skater but hasn’t posted the point totals at the minor-league level to even receive outside consideration for a call-up at this stage. The Prince Edward Island native has 95 points (38 G, 57 A) in 244 career appearances at the AHL level.

Washington inked Smallman to a two-way deal ($775K/$350K) this summer, bringing him in to join the Hershey Bears as they try for their third straight Calder Cup championship.

Jets Place Kaapo Kähkönen On Waivers

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The Jets have placed goaltender Kaapo Kähkönen on waivers, per PuckPedia. It appears he’s lost the backup battle to Eric Comrie and can be claimed by any team after signing a one-year, $1MM deal in Winnipeg over the offseason.

It’s likely not the result the Jets nor Kähkönen expected after coming to terms on the deal. Most assumed Comrie, who struggled to the tune of a .874 SV% in 10 games with the Sabres last year, would be the one to end up on waivers and sit at No. 3 on Winnipeg’s goaltending depth chart after inking a two-year, $825K AAV deal to kick off his fourth stint in the Jets organization.

The Jets were able to wait to make their decision, as starter Connor Hellebuyck’s brief absence due to personal reasons forced them to carry three goalies on their opening night roster. But Hellebuyck returned to pitch a shutout in last night’s season opener against the Oilers with Comrie on the bench, meaning Kähkönen watched from the press box.

It’s worth noting that taking Kähkönen off the roster instead of Comrie frees up an additional $175K in cap space. But it’s hard to imagine him passing through waivers. His $1MM cap hit is fully buriable in the minors if he doesn’t work out with a new club and lands back on the waiver wire, and he’s an intriguing pickup after he managed a .898 SV% in 37 games last year despite spending most of the campaign with the league-worst Sharks. The 28-year-old’s numbers weren’t too far below average, and he closed the campaign on a tear with a .923 SV% in six games for the Devils after New Jersey acquired him via trade.

Kähkönen was a Minnesota fourth-round pick back in 2014. He has a career .899 SV%, four shutouts, and a 49-67-15 record in 139 appearances with the Wild, Sharks, and Devils.

Canadiens Sign, Waive Gustav Lindström

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Oct. 10: The Habs announced that Lindström has cleared waivers and has been assigned to Laval.

Oct. 9: The Canadiens have signed depth defenseman Gustav Lindström to a two-way contract, per a team release. The Swede spent training camp on a PTO with the Ducks but didn’t make the roster and was released last week. He’s subsequently been placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Laval, the team said.

Lindström, 26 later this month, has played in parts of five NHL seasons. The 2017 second-round pick of the Red Wings established himself as a bottom-pairing/press box option there, posting 25 points (2 G, 23 A) and a -33 rating in 128 appearances. The nephew of former Shark Marcus Ragnarsson has minimal offensive upside and mostly relies on his footspeed to put himself in position to break up plays, leading to some unimpressive but not catastrophic possession metrics (44.6 career CF%, but playing on rebuilding clubs).

The Red Wings parted ways with Lindström last year, trading him to the Canadiens in a late-summer swap for Jeff Petry. He’s now back for his second stint in Montreal. He posted four points in 14 games, averaging 15:17 per night, but couldn’t avoid the waiver wire and was claimed by the Ducks in January. He finished out the year with a strong run of play in Anaheim, logging six assists with an impressive +12 rating in 32 games on one of the league’s worst defensive teams. He did so in heavy defensive usage, too, with a 60.2 dZS%. His 44.6 CF% still managed to check in 0.1% better than the Ducks’ shot attempt share without Lindström on the ice.

There’s a bit of defensive upside there, one that may convince a team to claim him off waivers. But since he had to wait until Day 2 of the regular season to earn even just a two-way deal, it seems interest in his services is low. The Canadiens don’t have a huge need for depth help at the NHL level, with youngsters like Lane Hutson and Jayden Struble set to lock down full-time roles, but they only have three healthy non-roster defenders under contract, and Laval is seriously understaffed. That’s where they’ll hope to fit him in for now. Lindström has made 62 AHL appearances in parts of three years, posting eight assists and a -18 rating.

Lindström won’t count against the 23-man roster limit while on waivers since he was signed and waived on the same day.

Mark Friedman Clears Waivers, Reassigned To AHL

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10/9: Vancouver was able to pass Friedman through waivers unscathed. The organization announced they have reassigned Friedman to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.

10/8: The Canucks announced today they’ve placed defenseman Mark Friedman on waivers for the purpose of assignment, opening up a roster spot ahead of tomorrow’s home opener against the Flames.

Friedman, 29 in December, has emerged as a quality No. 7/8 option on the blue line in his prime. After spending most of his 20s as a true farmhand, he’s played in at least 20 games in each of the past three seasons.

He’s never avoided AHL action entirely, though, aside from the 2020-21 campaign he spent mostly on the Flyers’ and Penguins’ taxi squads. He started last season in Pittsburgh but was traded to the Canucks early on, posting an assist and a +4 rating in 23 games in Vancouver uniform while averaging 12:14 per night. He inked a one-year, one-way league minimum extension in June to keep him with the Canucks for 2024-25, but he’ll now land on waivers a year to the day after he was last on the wire with the Penguins. One way or another, he won’t be rostered for tomorrow night’s game – he’ll either be in Abbotsford or with a new team if one claims him.

Friedman has serviceable possession metrics and has demonstrated value as a cheap plug-and-play guy who won’t be a defensive liability, even if he lacks any legitimate long-term upside. That could convince a team dealing with injuries on the blue line to submit a claim.

Oilers Re-Claim Raphael Lavoie Off Waivers

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The Oilers have re-acquired Raphael Lavoie off waivers, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He was lost on the wire to the Golden Knights just two days ago. If Edmonton was the only team to submit a claim, they can now assign him directly to AHL Bakersfield.

Even if Edmonton wasn’t the only team to submit a claim, they can still get away with having him on the active roster for now. They had two open spots and were up to $1.06MM in cap space before the claim after moving Evander Kane to LTIR, per PuckPedia, enough to shoulder Lavoie’s league minimum cap hit.

It’s good tidings for the Oilers, who never wanted to lose Lavoie in the first place. A victim of roster math, he’s on the cusp of a full-time NHL role after posting 50 points in 66 games for their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield last season. The 2019 second-round pick has intriguing size at 6’4″ and 216 lbs and can play both center and wing – an appealing mix for a depth scorer.

He’s especially so on a contending and cap-strapped Oilers club, who would likely insert him into the lineup the first chance they get if an injury strikes. The Golden Knights were hoping to see what they had in him by giving him some runway with their AHL affiliate in Henderson, but it wasn’t in the cards.

Golden Knights Place Raphael Lavoie On Waivers

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The Golden Knights have placed forward Raphael Lavoie on waivers in an attempt to assign him to AHL Henderson, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Lavoie was claimed by Vegas just yesterday after being waived by the Oilers over the weekend.

Lavoie, 24, made his NHL debut just last year. The 6’4″ center/winger made seven appearances for Edmonton in November and December, posting a -2 rating with four shots on goal while averaging a paltry 7:17 per game. His 50 points in 66 games on assignment to AHL Bakersfield had him on the cusp of making the opening night roster, but he just missed the cut and landed on the waiver wire.

The Golden Knights also claimed Cole Schwindt off waivers from the Flames yesterday, but they don’t have the roster space to keep both long-term. Center William Karlsson will start the year on injured reserve to keep their roster at the maximum of 23 players, but he won’t be out for much if any time. Someone would have needed to hit waivers upon his return – likely one of the new guys so as to avoid exposing valuable defensive depth in the form of Ben Hutton or Kaedan Korczak to the wire. While a waiver placement today wasn’t necessary, the Knights hope that attempting to send Lavoie down now before more injuries pop up across the league gives them a chance to stash him in Henderson.

That likely won’t be the case, though. Derek Van Diest of NHL.com reports the Oilers have an interest in retaining Lavoie and will likely submit a claim before tomorrow’s deadline. If they’re the only team to do so, they can send him directly to Bakersfield without having to pass him through waivers again.

Vancouver Reassign Three To AHL, Place Two On SOIR

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The Vancouver Canucks are gearing up to announce their opening night roster for the 2024-25 NHL season. The team has made a few transactions in that effort announcing Arshdeep Bains, Erik Brannstrom, and Jiri Patera have been assigned to their AHL affiliate with Thatcher Demko and Dakota Joshua being placed on the season-opening injured reserve.

None of the moves are surprising with Vancouver trading for, and waiving, Brannstrom yesterday in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche. Patera was also placed on waivers yesterday by the Boston Bruins and the Canucks can send him down without waivers since they were the only team to place a claim.

Bains played eight games for Vancouver last year but came away scoreless. He should be a relatively frequent call-up depending on the Canucks’ injury outlook with Bains scoring 16 goals and 55 points in 56 games for AHL Abbotsford last year.

The two injured reserve assignments, Demko and Joshua, are the most unsurprising designations among the transactions. Demko continues to work his way back from an injury suffered in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs without any concrete timeline for his return.

According to The Athletic’s Rick Dhaliwal, there is more positivity with Joshua, who has returned to the ice and is only a few weeks away from joining the team. Joshua missed all of training camp for the Canucks after undergoing surgery for his testicular cancer diagnosis. He’s expected to fully recover and join Vancouver’s roster in a few weeks.

Blue Jackets Claim Zach Aston-Reese Off Waivers From Golden Knights

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The Blue Jackets have picked up depth forward Zach Aston-Reese off waivers from the Golden Knights, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Aston-Reese, 30, had signed a one-year, two-way pact ($775K/$475K) to join Vegas in July. After failing to carve out a roster spot in Vegas, losing it chiefly to PTO signee Tanner Pearson, he’ll now play out that deal in the Blue Jackets organization.

It’s not surprising to see Aston-Reese land somewhere else, especially with a Columbus club in need of forward depth. During his five seasons as a full-time NHLer from 2018 to 2023 with the Penguins, Ducks, and Maple Leafs, he was a regular in a fourth-line role and had some of the best even-strength defensive impacts in the league, even earning Selke votes in 2020. But he had to settle for a two-way deal with the Red Wings last year and barely played in the NHL, clearing waivers and spending most of the season with AHL Grand Rapids. He logged just three appearances with Detroit and averaged just 5:09 per game, going without a point.

Aston-Reese’s point production in Grand Rapids was what you’d expect for a defensive forward with NHL upside, totaling 30 points in 61 games. With his career 52.2 xGF% in heavy defensive zone usage, he’ll provide value to Columbus’ bottom six early on even if he’s not finding the back of the net with any frequency.

He could potentially shift to left wing for the Jackets and comprise a fourth line with Sean Kuraly and Mathieu Olivier. Columbus still needs to send one forward to AHL Cleveland in the next couple of hours, either James Malatesta or Mikael Pyyhtia, to get their active roster down to 23 players.

Canucks Re-Claim Jiří Patera Off Waivers From Bruins

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After losing him on waivers to the Bruins last week, the Canucks have re-acquired goaltender Jiří Patera off the wire Monday, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. If they were the only team to put in a claim, they could assign him directly to AHL Abbotsford without having to expose him to waivers again. Friedman adds that’s the likely scenario.

The Canucks initially tried to sneak Patera through waivers to Abbotsford at the beginning of the month, but Boston claimed him as a backup option to Joonas Korpisalo in case the team didn’t come to terms with restricted free agent netminder Jeremy Swayman before opening night. That dilemma was solved yesterday with an eight-year, $66MM deal for Swayman, making Patera expendable in Boston. He’ll now head to Abbotsford, where he initially planned on playing this season after signing a two-year, two-way contract with Vancouver in July.

It’s no harm, no foul for either team, with the Bruins getting the short-term insurance they needed and the Canucks and Patera getting to resume course on their original plan. Patera, 25, was a sixth-round pick of the Golden Knights back in 2017 and remained in the Vegas organization up until this summer, when he became a Group VI UFA and signed with Vancouver. He made eight NHL appearances while in the Knights’ pipeline, posting a 3-3-1 record, 3.57 GAA, and .902 SV%. On the farm with the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights, he had a 2.92 GAA, a .907 SV%, 37-40-6 record, and one shutout in 85 appearances.

Those are certainly serviceable numbers for a No. 3 option, which is the role he’ll hold with Kevin Lankinen and Arturs Silovs set to open the season as Vancouver’s two NHL goalies. Star starter Thatcher Demko will land on injured reserve while he continued to recover from the knee injury that sidelined him for all but one postseason game in 2024.

Ducks Claim James Reimer Off Waivers From Sabres

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The Ducks have claimed netminder James Reimer off waivers from the Sabres, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

Reimer, 36, has over 500 games of NHL experience and was still serviceable in a rotation role for the Red Wings last year but was knocked squarely into a third-string spot on the Sabres’ depth chart behind Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen after signing a one-year, $1MM deal there in July. He was largely expected to land on waivers unless Buffalo opted to carry three goalies.

While the veteran was solid enough for Detroit in 2023-24, his 20 starts and five relief appearances were both career-lows. His .904 SV%, 3.11 GAA, and 0.3 GSAA were all marked steps forward from the prior year’s showing with the rebuilding Sharks, however, and he’s still likely worth a shot as a full-time backup somewhere.

He’ll get that chance in Anaheim, at least for now. The Ducks were looking for a veteran name to add to the mix with John Gibson on the shelf to start the season after getting his appendix removed nearly two weeks ago. He’s still one to four weeks away from a return, meaning rookie Calle Clang (who has no NHL games played under his belt) was set to start the year as the backup to youngster Lukáš Dostál. After claiming Reimer, though, the Ducks can return Clang to AHL San Diego.

The Ducks now have their opening night roster set in stone at 13 forwards, eight defenders, and two goalies, assuming Clang is sent down. They’ll have $20.64MM in projected cap space after the acquisition, per PuckPedia.

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