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Waivers

Bruins Patrick Brown, Vinni Lettieri Clear Waivers

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3/31: Both Bruins forwards have cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. They will now be eligible to be assigned to the minor leagues.

3/30: The Boston Bruins have placed forwards Patrick Brown and Vinni Lettieri on waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Both players have been up and down between the major and minor rosters this season, after each successfully clearing waivers in October.

Lettieri has been the slightly more utilized forward between the pair. He’s appeared in 19 games this season and scored two goals and three points, while tacking on four penalty minutes and a minus-eight. It’s another season of low-scoring for Lettieri, after he entered the season with just 27 points in 128 career NHL games. He’s been far more exciting in the minors this season – with 20 goals and 48 points in 46 games ranking him second on the Providence Bruins in scoring. Lettieri is one of just 15 AHL skaters still scoring above a point-per-game pace through 20-or-more games. While his NHL scoring has stayed consistently low, he’s been a routine force in the minors. Lettieri has rivaled point-per-game scoring in every AHL season since 2020-21 – including netting a career-high 49 points in 48 games of the 2022-23 campaign. With a succesful pass through waivers, Lettieri could be in a great spot to break that career-high in his age-30 season.

Brown has performed a slight step behind Lettieri all year long. He has just one assist in 13 NHL games, and 44 points in 52 AHL games, on the season. He too entered the year with little NHL momentum behind him – entering 2024-25 with just 25 points in 149 career games. But his minor-league scoring does mark a small breakout after Brown managed just 32 points in 42 AHL games last season, and 21 points in 60 games of his last full AHL season in 2019-20. He spent the gap between the AHL stints playing routine minutes with the Philadelphia Flyers, and filling an extra forward role with the Vegas Golden Knights and Ottawa Senators. The journeyman Brown is now settled with the Bruins, and could soon head to support Providence’s Calder Cup Playoffs push after they clinched a spot last weekend.

Of note, neither player will be able to return to the NHL this season should they be claimed off of waivers. They’ll instead have to be assigned to their new team’s minor league program and potentially support a different Calder Cup race.

Wild Brendan Gaunce, Devin Shore Clear Waivers

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3/31: Both Wild forwards have cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. They will now be eligible to be assigned to the minor leagues.

3/30: The Minnesota Wild have placed depth forwards Brendan Gaunce and Devin Shore on waivers per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Both players have bounced between rosters all season long. Shore was placed on, and cleared, waivers in each of September, December, January, and February – while Gaunce was successfully waived in September.

While he’s often been the first cut when Minnesota needs roster flexibility, Shore has spent the large majority of his season on the NHL roster. He’s stepped into 51 games on the year and recorded five points, six penalty minutes, and a minus-six from Minnesota’s fourth line. Shore has also been returned to the minors for 14 games on the year. He has a productive 10 points, six penalty minutes, and minus-11 in those appearances. While he hasn’t found much scoring at either level, this year has marked the most Shore has played in one NHL season since 2016-17 and 2017-18 – when he played through two full seasons with the Dallas Stars. Those were career years for Shore, giving him the platform to score a career-high 33 and 32 points respectively. He’s fallen into the role of journeyman depth forward in the years since, playing through tenures with the Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, and Seattle Kraken.

While Shore has provided Minnesota with a veteran presence in their extra forward slot, Gaunce has found his footing at the top of the AHL Iowa Wild lineup. He has 15 goals and 29 points in 35 AHL games this season, good for fifth on the roster in scoring. Those appearances have been intercut with 12 games in the NHL lineup, though Gaunce has only tallied one assist, four penalty minutes, and a minus-four at the top flight. He’s bounced between the NHL and AHL over the last three years, after a quick pit stop in Sweden’s SHL in the shortened 2020-21 campaign. He scored a career-high 39 points in 46 AHL games last season and has 29 points in 189 career NHL games.

Of note, neither player will be able to rejoin the NHL should they be claimed off waivers due to the post-Deadline roster rules . They will instead need to be assigned to their new club’s minor-league program.

Predators Place Marc Del Gaizo, Kieffer Bellows On Waivers

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March 27: Bellows and Del Gaizo cleared waivers, Nick Kieser of 102.5 The Game reports. Both remain on Nashville’s roster for now.

March 26: The Nashville Predators have placed defenseman Marc Del Gaizo and left-winger Kieffer Bellows on waivers per PuckPedia. Del Gaizo has been with the NHL club since late February, while Bellows was called up on March 7th.

Serving as the Predators’ de facto defense call-up, Del Gaizo has split the season between the major and minor league rosters. He’s recorded eight points and 17 penalty minutes in 35 NHL games this season, making this year Del Gaizo’s formal rookie season after playing in nine games, and netting three points, in the NHL last year. He’s also added eight goals, 12 points, and 16 penalty minutes in 30 AHL games this season. That mark sits as a slight downtick from the 34 points he scored in 60 AHL games last year, and the 31 points he scored in 71 games of the 2022-23 season. The 25-year-old defender has found a niche as a stout defender away from the puck, though his menial scoring wasn’t enough to earn an everyday spot this season.

Bellows hasn’t found his NHL scoring this season either, with just three points in 13 games this season. He’s been far more productive in the minors, where his 14 goals and 29 points in 41 games ranks sixth on the Milwaukee Admirals in scoring. Bellows’ 54 penalty minutes also ranks fifth on the squad. He’s playing through his first season with the Predators organization after posting an impressive 27 goals and 49 points in 52 games with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies last season. The Canadian stint was part of what’s turning into a journeyman career for Bellows, who’s played with the New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, and Predators within the last four seasons.

Both players seem likely to clear waivers and head back to the minor leagues, but their status will be important to watch. Should either player be claimed, they would be ineligible to be recalled to the NHL for the rest of the seasons. Both players are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer, which could mean they’ve played their last NHL games of the year – should another team want to bolster their minor-league lineups ahead of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Waivers: 3/6/25

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March 7: All five players cleared waivers today, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

March 6: In addition to yesterday’s action on the waiver wire, five more players have been exposed, as reported by Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.

F Ryan Reaves (Maple Leafs) – In a clear move to cut cap space from the active roster, Toronto has placed Reaves and his $1.35MM salary on waivers. It could be time for a change of scenery from the longtime enforcer, but there’s little expectation a team will want him on their roster at that price point. Although he’s paid for having hard hands rather than soft ones, Reaves has tallied two assists in 35 games for the Maple Leafs this season, averaging 7:48 of ice time per night. It’s the least utilized he has been in his role since his brief 58-game run with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017-18.

D Riley Stillman (Hurricanes) – Today’s waiver placement marks the second time Stillman has been exposed on the wire this season. He didn’t start his 2024-25 campaign until mid-November thanks to a lower-body injury, and he was waived then upon his activation from Carolina’s injured non-roster list. Despite being limited to two games with the Hurricanes this season and frequent taxiing with their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, Stillman has reached the collective 30 days spent on Carolina’s roster requiring waivers for any future reassignment.

G Evan Cormier (Panthers) – Cormier’s inclusion on waivers presumably means the Panthers have signed the netminder to an NHL contract. Florida has had plenty of moving parts between the pipes recently, and Cormier gives them additional depth should they need it. The 27-year-old goaltender has yet to debut in the NHL, spending the last several years in the ECHL. Cormier has managed a 14-9-2 record in 27 games for the Savannah Ghost Pirates this season with a .881 SV% and 3.56 GAA.

F Cameron Hebig (Utah) – Hebig signed with the Utah Hockey Club this morning, requiring waivers for reassignment. [Article Link]

F Tyler Pitlick (Bruins) – Pitlick signed with the Boston Bruins this morning, requiring waivers for reassignment. [Article Link]

Blue Jackets Claim Christian Fischer From Red Wings

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2:19 p.m.: Columbus announced they’ve reassigned Pyyhtia as the corresponding move. He has 4-3–7 in 47 games with the Jackets this year with a -11 rating.

1:08 p.m.: The Blue Jackets have claimed winger Christian Fischer off waivers from the Red Wings, per Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic.

Given that the Blue Jackets didn’t have any additional room on their roster for another player, the team will have to make a corresponding roster move to make Fischer’s claim official. The inevitable roster move will presumably see forward Joseph Labate or Mikael Pyyhtia reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.

Today’s claim ends a nearly two-year run for Fischer in Detroit. The former 32nd-overall pick of the 2015 NHL Draft signed with the Red Wings in the summer of 2023 after being non-tendered by the Arizona Coyotes.

Before signing with the second team of his nine-year career, Fischer had shown flashes of being an effective bottom-six scorer. The Chicago, IL native scored 56 goals and 111 points in 398 games in a Coyotes uniform, averaging 13:16 of ice time per game. That scoring output includes a career-year during his sophomore campaign in 2017-18, registering 15 goals and 33 points in 79 contests, finishing seventh on the team in scoring.

Similarly to the end of his tenure in Arizona, Fischer has been primarily utilized as a defensive winger in Detroit. He’ll finish his time with the Red Wings with six goals and 26 points in 124 games while also laying 227 body checks.

Fischer should be a better player than Columbus’s other options on the team’s fourth line, but they shouldn’t have any ideas about putting Fischer on the team’s penalty kill. The Blue Jackets could use help in that department, given their 26th-ranked success rate with a man disadvantage. However, Fischer had sometimes featured on Detroit’s league-worst penalty kill, with a ghastly on-ice goals against/60 while short handed of 15.4.

Predators Claim Jakub Vrána, Jordan Oesterle

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The Predators have claimed winger Jakub Vrána off waivers from the Capitals and defenseman Jordan Oesterle off waivers from the Bruins, per Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic.

Nashville needed some depth after trading winger Gustav Nyquist to the Minnesota Wild a few days ago and moving Thomas Novak and Luke Schenn to the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday evening. Newly acquired Michael Bunting will become a regular feature in the lineup upon his recovery from appendix-removal surgery, but Vrana and Oesterle will fill in in the meantime.

After a few subpar years with the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues, Vrána successfully converted a PTO into a one-year, league minimum deal with the Washington Capitals. It was a feel-good story at the time, given that the best years of Vrána’s career had come in the Capitals organization. Before being acquired by Detroit at the 2020-21 trade deadline, Vrána had scored 76 goals and 157 points in 284 games, including a Stanley Cup ring from the 2018 postseason.

Thanks to a relatively healthy forward core this season, the Capitals haven’t utilized Vrána much. The nine-year veteran has been limited to 26 games this season in Washington, scoring four goals and 11 points while averaging 9:50 of ice time per night. There’s no guarantee he’ll have more access to playing time in Nashville, but he could make a decent fit on the team’s fourth line.

Meanwhile, Oesterle joins the seventh organization of his career from the waiver claim. The product of Western Michigan University had recently signed a two-year, $1.55MM agreement with Boston last summer. Similarly to Vrána, Oesterle had been a lightly called upon depth option on the Bruins’ blue line.

He’s likely to find a similar role in Nashville. Oesterle doesn’t appear better on paper than any of the Predators’ other options unless the team has not finished dealing from their defensive core. The 11-year veteran has registered one goal and six points in 22 games for the Bruins this season, averaging 17:36 of ice time. The pair of Nashville’s waiver claims were briefly teammates throughout their time with the Red Wings from 2021 to 2023.

Waivers: 3/5/25

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Four players hit the waiver wire on Wednesday ahead of Friday’s trade deadline, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

F Christian Fischer (Red Wings) – Fischer, 27, has slipped down Detroit’s depth chart as the season’s progressed. He’s been a healthy scratch in four of their last eight games. His 11:09 ATOI is his lowest in five years, as are his 0.16 points per game (1-6–7 in 45 GP). On an expiring deal worth $1.125MM, he’ll cost $100K against the cap for Detroit if he clears and is sent to the minors. It’s unclear if it’s purely a performance-based demotion or if they’re waiving him to open up roster flexibility ahead of the deadline – likely a bit of both.

D Jordan Oesterle (Bruins) – Oesterle’s waiver placement comes after the 32-year-old scored his first goal since December 2022 in yesterday’s loss to the Predators. He’d been a healthy scratch in 10 straight games before re-entering the lineup for Ian Mitchell. The veteran depth piece has served as a bottom-pairing/depth option for a good chunk of the season with Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy missing significant time on the Boston blue line. He’s been rostered since late November, so today’s waiver placement is likely an effort to get him assigned to AHL Providence on deadline day to make him eligible for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

F Jesse Puljujärvi (Panthers) – Puljujärvi signed a tryout with Florida’s AHL affiliate in Charlotte last month after having his deal with the Penguins mutually terminated. Today’s waiver placement indicates he’s landed an NHL deal with the Panthers for the rest of the season. If he clears waivers and returns to Charlotte, he’ll now be a recall option down the stretch. It’s a two-way, league-minimum deal for the 2016 No. 4 overall pick, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports. He has three assists in seven games with Charlotte after posting 3-6–9 in 26 showings with Pittsburgh earlier this season.

F Jakub Vrána (Capitals) – Vrána won’t necessarily be reassigned to AHL Hershey if he clears, at least not immediately. They’ll have a 30-day window to send him to the minors waiver-free to aid in salary cap flexibility around deadline moves, AP’s Stephen Whyno reports. Regardless, it’s been a tough year for the 29-year-old. He landed a PTO with Washington in camp and converted that into an NHL contract for his second stint with the Caps, who drafted him 13th overall in 2014. He’s been reasonably productive when dressed, posting 7-4–11 in 26 games despite seeing just 9:50 of ice time per game, but hasn’t found a regular role in Washington’s league-best offense. He’s suited up just three times since New Year’s, sitting almost exclusively as a healthy scratch. He’s on a one-way deal for 2024-25 worth the minimum $775K.

Lightning To Reassign Cam Atkinson, Logan Brown

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March 5: Atkinson and Brown cleared waivers, according to Friedman. Both will be reassigned to Syracuse as the Lightning look to close a trade with the Kraken for forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde.

March 4: The Lightning have placed forwards Cam Atkinson and Logan Brown on waivers for reassignment to AHL Syracuse, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Brown wasn’t previously under contract with the Bolts, so the move indicates he’s been promoted from his contract with Syracuse and signed to an NHL contract for the rest of the campaign.

It’s certainly eye-popping to see Atkinson, a veteran of over 800 NHL games, on the waiver wire. His performance after signing a one-year, $900K deal with the Bolts early in free agency, though, has left much to be desired. The 35-year-old has 3-5–8 through 36 games and is averaging a career-low 8:49 per night. He’s become an increasingly frequent healthy scratch as a result, sitting out a season-high four straight contests entering tonight’s game against his former team, the Blue Jackets.

Atkinson was still a semi-serviceable top-nine piece for the Flyers last year, posting 13-15–28 through 70 games. It wasn’t nearly enough to justify his $5.875MM cap hit, though, and Philadelphia opted to buy him out with one year remaining on his contract. The downturn in production from the diminutive yet skilled Atkinson came after he missed the entire 2022-23 campaign following neck surgery, one that unfortunately seems to have tanked his effectiveness in his career’s twilight.

Selected in the sixth round of the 2008 draft by the Blue Jackets, Atkinson was a top-six fixture in Columbus for a decade. He posted 402 points in 627 games with the club before they traded him to Philly in the 2021 offseason in a blockbuster one-for-one exchange that sent Jakub Voráček the other way. Injuries have derailed both players’ careers since, with Voráček since retiring due to concussions.

Now in Tampa, Atkinson has been superseded by players like Zemgus Girgensons and Gage Goncalves on their depth chart. He’s been tried at right wing on the second line with Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel – a role that’s Tampa’s top priority this week to fill. Waiving Atkinson gives them additional roster and salary cap flexibility to achieve that goal.

They’ll also add Brown as a recall option down the stretch, assuming he clears waivers. The 26-year-old center will earn a pro-rated salary of $775K in the NHL and $350K in the AHL down the stretch, per PuckPedia.

The No. 11 pick in the 2016 draft, Brown hasn’t skated in an NHL game since making 30 appearances for the Blues in the 2022-23 campaign. He signed a two-way deal with Tampa for 2023-24 but ended up spending the entire season on injured reserve following an undisclosed surgery. He returned to the Bolts on a camp tryout and landed an AHL deal with Syracuse, where the 6’6″ pivot has 7-12–19 through 25 appearances.

Brown won’t count against the Bolts’ active roster since he was waived on the same day he signed a contract.

Sharks’ Walker Duehr Clears Waivers

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March 4: Duehr cleared waivers, Friedman reports. The Sharks can now remove him from their roster at will. The team later confirmed they’d sent him to the AHL.

March 3: The Sharks have placed winger Walker Duehr on waivers for the purposes of assignment to AHL San Jose, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

San Jose acquired Duehr by claiming him off waivers from the Flames in January. If Calgary submits a claim for him and is the only team to do so in his 24-hour waiver window, they may assign him directly to their AHL affiliate without needing to waive him again.

Duehr, 27, failed to land a regular role in the lineup in the Bay Area. After playing in eight consecutive contests for the Sharks following his addition to the roster, he’s now been scratched in three straight heading into tonight’s matchup against the Maple Leafs.

The South Dakota-born righty scored twice as a Shark, his first goals of the season after going scoreless in 16 with the Flames. He posted a minus-five rating while recording six shots on goal and 11 hits, and his 8:49 ATOI nearly mirrored his 8:48 with Calgary to begin the campaign.

This is Duehr’s third time on waivers since the 2024-25 league year began. He cleared them late in preseason en route to starting the season with AHL Calgary, but he was recalled in December following season-ending ACL surgeries to Flames forwards Justin Kirkland and Anthony Mantha. Upon failing to lock down a fourth-line role in Alberta, he ended up on waivers to San Jose’s benefit when Calgary decided to try other internal solutions in their bottom six.

Whether the Flames will be interested in a reunion remains to be seen, but it’s likely considering how valuable he was to their feeder club. They signed Duehr as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State in 2021. He scored 9-10–19 with a minus-nine rating in 84 games for Calgary before the Sharks claimed him. While that’s not particularly impactful, especially with highly underwhelming possession numbers this season, his performance in the AHL was stellar. He had 11-8–19 in 20 games for the Wranglers before his December recall to the big club, production they’d surely like to add back into the fold if possible.

San Jose, on the other hand, will hope Duehr clears and can provide that offense to their farm system despite the lack of NHL impact. He’d be a major add for a Barracuda club tracking to finish above .500 for the first time since the 2018-29 season. They boast the AHL’s leading scorer in veteran Andrew Poturalski (23-35–58 in 49 GP), while Sharks 2023 fourth-rounder Luca Cagnoni leads AHL rookie defensemen in scoring with 13-28–41 in 51 games.

Bruins Reassign Oliver Wahlstrom

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Feb. 28: Wahlstrom cleared waivers, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He’s on his way to Providence as expected, Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald confirms.

Feb. 27: The Bruins placed winger Oliver Wahlstrom on waivers today, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports.

Wahlstrom has only been a member of the Boston organization for two and a half months. Claimed off waivers from the Islanders in mid-December, the 24-year-old hasn’t panned out. He’s been a frequent healthy scratch and has only played in four of the Bruins’ last 10 games.

When dressed, the 2018 11th overall pick has remained a non-factor. He managed just a goal and assist in 16 appearances for Boston, averaging 10:30 per game and shooting at just 4.2%. A premier goal-scorer in his youth, potting 48 in 62 games with the U.S. National U18 Team in his draft year, he’s now on track to finish at a clip worse than six percent in back-to-back seasons.

All told, Wahlstrom has just four points in 34 games this season split between the Bruins and Islanders. His possession metrics were ghastly in New York but have notably improved since the move. He’s not broken even in shot attempts at even strength, still only controlling 47.8%, but that’s better than how the Bruins have fared without him on the ice whenever he’s been in the lineup. Still, there’s little evidence for him as an effective everyday NHLer, especially since a leg injury truncated a promising 2022-23 campaign at the halfway mark. He’s never fully rebounded, only scoring 12 points in 75 appearances since returning after he was on pace for 37 points over 82 games before the injury.

It’s notable that Wahlstrom is being removed from the roster even in the wake of an injury to top-nine forward Trent Frederic, who’s now out week-to-week and will likely be out the door by the trade deadline anyway. The likelihood of a claim is minimal after a failed change of scenery, so he figures to head to AHL Providence for his first minor-league action in five years.

The Bruins will have an open roster spot tomorrow after Wahlstrom clears or is claimed and could open a second one by moving Frederic to IR. It’s unclear what they plan on doing with the flexibility, although a corresponding recall from Providence should be expected before a two-game road trip that begins this weekend.

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