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2024-25 NHL Waiver Claims

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The following is a list of all waiver claims made across the NHL in the 2024-25 season. The corresponding story for each waiver claim is linked with the date preceding the transaction. This list will be continuously updated throughout the campaign.

Updated 3-6-25

Oct. 2, 2024 – Bruins claim G Jiří Patera from Canucks

Oct. 7, 2024 – Canucks claim G Jiří Patera from Bruins

Oct. 7, 2024 – Ducks claim G James Reimer from Sabres

Oct. 7, 2024 – Blue Jackets claim F Zach Aston-Reese from Golden Knights

Oct. 7, 2024 – Golden Knights claim F Cole Schwindt from Flames

Oct. 7, 2024 – Golden Knights claim F Raphael Lavoie from Oilers

Oct. 9, 2024 – Oilers claim F Raphael Lavoie from Golden Knights

Oct. 11, 2024 – Avalanche claim G Kaapo Kähkönen from Jets

Oct. 11, 2024 – Golden Knights claim F Raphael Lavoie from Oilers

Nov. 10, 2024 – Blue Jackets claim D Dante Fabbro from Predators

Nov. 12, 2024 – Jets claim G Kaapo Kähkönen from Avalanche

Nov. 13, 2024 – Sabres claim G James Reimer from Ducks

Nov. 19, 2024 – Oilers claim F Kasperi Kapanen from Blues

Dec. 11, 2024 – Oilers claim D Alec Regula from Bruins

Dec. 12, 2024 – Utah claims D Dakota Mermis from Maple Leafs

Dec. 13, 2024 – Wild claim D Travis Dermott from Oilers

Dec. 14, 2024 – Bruins claim F Oliver Wahlstrom from Islanders

Jan. 3, 2025 – Maple Leafs claim D Dakota Mermis from Utah

Jan. 5, 2025 – Utah claims D Nick DeSimone from Devils

Jan. 6, 2025 – Rangers claim F Arthur Kaliyev from Kings

Jan. 22, 2025 – Sharks claim F Walker Duehr from Flames

Jan. 31, 2025 – Islanders claim D Adam Boqvist from Panthers

Feb. 5, 2025 – Wild claim F Vinnie Hinostroza from Predators

Feb. 9, 2025 – Penguins claim D Vladislav Kolyachonok from Utah

Feb. 10, 2025 – Predators claim D Andreas Englund from Kings

Feb. 27, 2025 – Oilers claim D Travis Dermott from Wild

March 6, 2025  – Predators claim F Jakub Vrána from Capitals, D Jordan Oesterle from Bruins

March 6, 2025 – Blue Jackets claim F Christian Fischer from Red Wings

Kraken’s Daniel Sprong Clears Waivers

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Jan. 9: Sprong has cleared waivers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He must be assigned to Coachella Valley within 30 days before needing to clear waivers again.

Jan. 8: The Kraken placed winger Daniel Sprong on waivers Tuesday, intending to assign him to AHL Coachella Valley, according to a team announcement.

Seattle picked up Sprong, 27, in a trade with the Canucks in November in exchange for future considerations. The Kraken were hoping to get the kind of production out of Sprong they got two years ago when he posted a career-best 21 goals and 46 points in only 66 appearances, but things haven’t gone to plan.

Sprong’s tumultuous season thus far comes after a turbulent summer during which, despite recording 43 points in 76 games for the Red Wings last season, Detroit opted not to qualify him and let him become an unrestricted free agent. The Amsterdam native unexpectedly had to wait nearly three weeks to land a deal, eventually signing a one-year, $975K commitment with the Canucks.

Most expected Vancouver to have Sprong factor in as a complementary top-nine piece, potentially even on Elias Pettersson’s wing, but that experiment didn’t last very long. He also bounced around lines with Pius Suter and Aatu Räty down the middle, averaging 11:39 per game and recording three points until the Canucks decided to cut bait after just nine games and traded him back to Seattle.

Sprong likely desired the move – he would have gotten a bit more playing time in a familiar environment where he’s had success before. He’s barely been utilized by new head coach Dan Bylsma, though, sitting in the press box for most of his second stint in the Emerald City. He’s logged only 10 appearances since the trade, including just four since the beginning of December, posting a goal and an assist with a plus-one rating.

Playing time became more scarce for Sprong last month when the Kraken acquired winger Kaapo Kakko from the Rangers. He’s sat in the press box for four straight now and hasn’t landed a job ahead of the newcomer or depth players like Tye Kartye. His inability to play down the middle has left him on the outside looking in, even with Yanni Gourde on injured reserve.

This season may not be pretty for Sprong, with five points through a combined 19 games, but teams should be willing to take a flyer based on his recent history of depth scoring. Despite averaging fewer than 12 minutes per game across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, he managed 39 goals and 89 points in 142 games for Seattle and Detroit – good for 0.63 per game.

New York Rangers Claim Arthur Kaliyev Off Waivers

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Jan. 6: Kaliyev’s time in the Kings organization has officially ended. TSN’s Bruce Garrioch was the first to report that the New York Rangers have claimed Kaliyev off the waiver wire. The Rangers will add Kaliyev’s entire $825K salary leaving them just under $8MM in room. He’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer.

Jan. 5: The Los Angeles Kings have placed winger Arthur Kaliyev on waivers per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Kaliyev sustained a fractured clavicle in the pre-season, and wasn’t activated from season-opening injured reserve until December 28th. He was assigned to the AHL for a conditioning stint on December 10th, and scored two points in five games with the Ontario Reign. But being activated off of IR returns Kaliyev to waiver eligibility, and the Kings will now attempt to pass his through waivers to return him to the minor leagues.

Kaliyev played in his first minor league games since 2020-21 on his conditioning stint. He’s spent the years since fighting, and struggling, to earn a consistent role in the Kings’ lineup, under a very bright spotlight. Kaliyev has stood as one of Los Angeles’ top prospects since 2019, when the Kings drafted him with the first pick of the second round. He played through his rookie NHL season in 2021-22, scoring 14 goals and 27 points. Kaliyev began to improve on those numbers in year-two, but suffered an undisclosed injury in December that forced him out through mid-February, limiting him to just 56 games. Kaliyev managed 13 goals and 28 points, impressively rivaling his rookie scoring despite the injuries. But he couldn’t continue that improvement into last season, netting just 15 points in 51 games and falling into routine healthy scratches.

Even with minute intentions, this move stands as a major wedge in Kaliyev’s drive to earn an NHL role. He’s totaled 35 goals and 71 points in 188 career games, but never seemed to find a fit in the lineup, no matter how often the Kings changed up his role. He could be an interesting, high upside bet on the waiver wire – offering teams the chance to land an impactful middle-six scorer for no cost. Kaliyev is set to be a restricted free-agent with arbitration status this summer, and carries an affordable $825K cap hit.

Utah Hockey Club Claims Nick DeSimone On Waivers

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1/5: The Utah Hockey Club has claimed DeSimone off of waivers from the Devils, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. DeSimone will replace Dakota Mermis’ role as Utah’s seventh defenseman, after the Leafs reclaimed Mermis off of waivers from Utah. New Jersey also acquired DeSimone off of waivers, claiming him away from Calgary last season.

1/4: The Devils are making a move to open up a roster spot.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Devils have placed defenseman Nick DeSimone on waivers.

It’s the second time this season that the 30-year-old finds himself on the wire.  DeSimone was put on waivers late in training camp and passed through unclaimed.  That wasn’t the case last year when he was waived, however, as he wound up with New Jersey via a midseason claim from Calgary, getting into 11 games after that where he had a pair of points along with 21 blocked shots in 16:29 of playing time per contest.  However, with the team much healthier and deeper on the back end going into the season, DeSimone lost his roster spot at the time.

DeSimone has been up with the Devils a few times this season.  Those combined stints totalled more than 30 days which is why he needs to go back on waivers to return to AHL Utica even though he didn’t suit up once with the Devils while on recall.  DeSimone has played in 12 games with the Comets when he hasn’t been in New Jersey, picking up three assists.

DeSimone is playing on a one-year, one-way contract worth the league minimum salary of $775K this season and is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.  Considering that some teams are dealing with some short-term injuries on the back end, it’s possible that DeSimone could find himself on the move when his waiver period expires at 1 PM CT on Sunday.

Maple Leafs Reclaim Dakota Mermis Off Waivers From Utah

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Jan. 3: The Maple Leafs reclaimed Mermis off waivers from Utah on Friday, PuckPedia reports. The team later announced that he’s been reassigned to the AHL, indicating they were the only team to submit a claim.

Jan. 2: The Utah Hockey Club placed defenseman Dakota Mermis on waivers on Thursday with intent to assign him to AHL Tucson, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

The placement could spell the end of Mermis’ brief tenure in the Beehive State. The club claimed him off waivers from the Maple Leafs on Dec. 12 when Toronto was attempting to sneak him to their AHL affiliate on a permanent assignment after a weeks-long conditioning stint.

Mermis, 30, ended up playing just one game for Utah, logging a -2 rating in 10:47 of ice time against the Ducks on Dec. 22. He was a healthy scratch on eight other occasions before landing on the waiver wire today.

When they claimed Mermis, Utah needed some veteran help to offset injuries to Robert Bortuzzo and Maveric Lamoureux on the back end, in addition to previous IR placements for Sean Durzi and John Marino. With Bortuzzo set to return tonight against the Flames after missing nearly a month with a lower-body injury, though, Mermis’ services as a healthy extra were no longer needed.

Bortuzzo was on IR, so Utah needs to open up a roster spot for his return. Mermis can’t clear the roster until tomorrow, so they’ll likely place netminder Connor Ingram, who’s been out since Nov. 18 with an upper-body injury, on IR retroactively to accommodate Bortuzzo’s activation.

Mermis inked a one-year, one-way deal with the Leafs in free agency but never suited up for them thanks to a jaw injury he sustained in training camp. If Toronto wants him back and is the only team to submit a claim, they may send him directly to the AHL without placing him on waivers again.

Now in his eighth NHL season, Mermis has accumulated 12 points and a +3 rating in 75 career games. A career-high 47 of those appearances came last season with the Wild, just the second time in his career he logged double-digit games and mostly avoided AHL assignments.

Penguins’ Jesse Puljujärvi Clears Waivers

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Dec. 31: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared that Puljujärvi has been successfully passed through waivers. The Penguins organization can now send him to the AHL unencumbered.

Dec. 30: The Penguins have placed winger Jesse Puljujärvi on waivers for the purposes of assignment to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Puljujärvi, the fourth overall pick of the 2016 draft by the Oilers, lands on waivers for the first time in his eight-year NHL career. The 26-year-old has played just once since Nov. 23, last suiting up on Dec. 7 against the Maple Leafs and serving as a healthy scratch in 14 of the Pens’ last 15 games.

That run of scratches has less to do with Puljujärvi’s performance than with the Penguins’ unwillingness to mess with a good thing. Pittsburgh has gone 10-4-1 since Thanksgiving and has thus kept its forward lineup intact on a nightly basis, with injuries allowing, understandably not leading to many opportunities for playing time for the once highly-touted Finn.

In 21 games with the Penguins this season, Puljujärvi had mustered three goals and five assists for eight points with a -2 rating. He did so while averaging 11:37 per game, up from the paltry 9:11 he received in a 22-game run with Pittsburgh last year. The 6’4″, 201-lb winger has added 30 hits and played an extremely effective game defensively. Despite starting 58.3% of his shifts at 5-on-5 in the defensive zone, the Pens still controlled 50.6% of shot attempts with Puljujärvi on the ice compared to 49.5% without him.

Those latter numbers make it a tad surprising to see him become available to the rest of the league for free, although it’s become clear there isn’t much of a role for him in Pittsburgh anymore. He’s in the back half of a two-year, $1.6MM contract he signed with the Pens in February 2024 after a lengthy stint on the free-agent market following double hip surgery.

It’s become clear that Puljujärvi likely won’t recapture the form that saw him produce a career-high 0.55 points per game back with Edmonton in 2021-22, but he remains a legitimately useful piece for a bottom-six shutdown unit. With a cap hit of $800K and no commitment past this season, it won’t be surprising if he ends up landing with another NHL club tomorrow.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Winnipeg’s Daniel Torgersson Clears Waivers, Contract To Be Terminated

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Dec. 29th: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed Torgersson has successfully cleared waivers and will have his contract terminated by the Jets organization.

Dec. 28th: Daniel Torgersson’s first three years in North American professional hockey haven’t gone as expected. The Winnipeg Jets have seen everything they need to as the organization announced they’ve placed Torgersson on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract.

Winnipeg selected Torgersson as the 40th overall selection of the 2020 NHL Draft from the SHL’s Frölunda HC program. He had a terrific season for Frölunda’s J20 SuperElit team scoring 26 goals and 44 points in 39 games.

He failed to build a positive reputation in the Swedish Hockey League over the next two years but eventually landed with AIK of the HockeyAllsvenskan in 2021-22. He scored seven goals and 17 points in 40 games for AIK before ending the season with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.

Torgersson was solid but unimpressive in his first full season with the Moose scoring 11 goals and 20 points in 69 games. He tied for 10th on the team in scoring during his rookie campaign but failed to move beyond the team’s bottom six.

The next year and a third have been an unmitigated disaster for Torgersson. He disappointed with one goal and nine points in 52 games for the Moose last season and has failed to find the scoresheet once this year through 12 contests. There’s no confirmed transaction but Torgersson is expected to continue his professional career in Sweden.

Winnipeg was likely hoping for a higher return on investment for a second-round pick but the 2020 NHL Draft presented unique scouting challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Torgersson will have the opportunity to repair his value overseas and potentially return to North America in the future.

Cayden Primeau Clears Waivers, Assigned To AHL

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Dec. 29th: The Canadiens organization announced Primeau has successfully cleared waivers. As expected, Montreal has reassigned Primeau to their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.

Dec. 27th: While the Canadiens are carrying three goalies following today’s recall of Jakub Dobes, that won’t be the case for long.  Following practice today, head coach Martin St. Louis told reporters including Sportsnet’s Eric Engels (Twitter link) that Montreal will place goaltender Cayden Primeau on waivers on Saturday.  The roster freeze doesn’t end until tomorrow which is why this move isn’t being made today.

Things were looking up for Primeau heading into the season.  After playing in a three-goalie rotation for most of last season, Primeau secured the full-time second spot after Jake Allen was moved to New Jersey at the trade deadline.  He finished up the season strong, putting up a .919 SV% in March and April, providing some optimism that he’d be ready for a full season of being a second-string option.

However, that hasn’t been the case as Primeau has struggled mightily thus far in 2024-25.  The 25-year-old has been limited to 11 appearances (four of which have come in relief) and he has posted a 4.70 GAA with a .836 SV%, ranking him last league-wide in both categories among netminders with more than one appearance this season.  That resulted in the team being hesitant to play him as his last start came back on December 1st.  With Samuel Montembeault only 13 games away from matching his career-high in appearances in a single season, carrying a backup they’re not comfortable using was unsustainable.

While Montreal was hesitant to waive him last season for fear he’d be claimed, it appears they’re more confident he’ll pass through now given his struggles so far.

The timing for those struggles is far from ideal for Primeau.  He’s in the final season of a three-year deal that carries a $890K cap charge while he’s also receiving a $1.1MM one-way salary.  As things stand, it’s hard to see the Canadiens (or another team if he’s claimed) offer him a seven-figure qualifying offer with arbitration rights this summer unless he is able to vastly turn things around in the second half of the season.

With Primeau not officially becoming available until Saturday, teams will have until 1 PM CT on Sunday to submit a claim for his services.

Avalanche Reassign Chris Wagner

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Dec. 20: It took a couple of days, but the Avalanche announced early this morning that Wagner had been reassigned to the minors. The move occurred before the roster freeze went into effect in Mountain Time.

Dec. 18: Wagner has cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. He will likely head to the minor leagues soon.

Dec. 17: The Avalanche have placed forward Chris Wagner on waivers for the third time this season, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. It’s likely Wagner’s departure from the roster tomorrow, one way or another, will be the corresponding move for defenseman Josh Manson’s activation from injured reserve. He’s traveled with the team on their road trip and is an option to return against the Sharks on Thursday, head coach Jared Bednar said yesterday.

Wagner, 33, signed a two-way extension with the Avalanche in April after signing as a free agent for his second go-around in Colorado in 2023. He was placed on waivers to begin the season and remained on the opening night roster after clearing, but he was sent to the minors on the opening day of the season after the Avs optimized their long-term injured reserve pool. He’s been ferried between leagues countless times since on paper transactions to extend his temporary waiver exemptions as long as possible. Still, it doesn’t matter how many days he’s been on the active roster once he’s played 10 games since last clearing waivers.

That’s the case, so he ends up back on the wire today as Colorado attempts to sneak him through to the minors without a competing claim yet again. Wagner has played in 22 of the Avs’ 33 games this season but has scored just one goal and is still looking for his first assist of the year. He’s averaged seven minutes per game, won 44.9% of his faceoffs, and has controlled a respectable 48.3% of shot attempts at even strength, given his usage as a defensive specialist.

Teams now have 24 hours to decide whether to submit a claim for Wagner to add him to their active roster or let him continue logging time in the NHL and AHL in Colorado. The Massachusetts native has made 395 career appearances in 11 seasons with the Bruins, Ducks, Avs, and Islanders, scoring 39 goals and 27 assists for 66 points with a -31 rating.

Bruins, Tyler Johnson To Mutually Terminate Contract

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Dec. 20: Johnson cleared waivers and will have his deal terminated, reports Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic. The veteran will engage with other teams on signing a new contract for the remainder of 2024-25 after the roster freeze lifts, he adds.

Dec. 19: The Bruins have placed veteran forward Tyler Johnson on unconditional waivers, per Conor Ryan of the Boston Globe. The two sides are likely headed for a mutual contract termination.

The 34-year-old Johnson opened the season with the Bruins after signing a professional tryout during training camp, but they didn’t add him to the active roster until signing him to a one-year, league-minimum deal in early November. He’s been seldom used, especially recently, only appearing in one of Boston’s eight games this month. He made a total of nine appearances for the B’s, posting two assists with a -1 rating while averaging 13:05 per game.

It’s far less offense than Boston was expecting from Johnson. A two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Lightning, Johnson had still been an effective middle-six presence for the Blackhawks over the past few seasons while battling injuries. The Washington native picked up 32 goals and 70 points in 149 appearances with Chicago between 2021-22 and 2023-24, averaging just under half a point per game.

In the early stages of his career, Johnson was a high-end, defensively responsible complementary center in Tampa Bay’s top six. From 2013-14 to 2019-20, he posted 150 goals and 333 points in 520 appearances, averaging 24 and 53 per 82 games, respectively. He played all three forward positions and was never a major liability in the faceoff dot when suiting up down the middle.

Johnson was limited to eight goals and 22 points in 55 games in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, though. The Bolts, who could no longer afford to allocate $5MM per season to a declining scorer, packaged him with a second-round pick for cap relief to Chicago, taking on injured blue-liner Brent Seabrook’s contract for long-term injured reserve relief in return.

If Johnson clears waivers tomorrow, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent once again. If there’s still NHL interest in his services, it could result in a rare unconditional waiver claim as he’s already making the league minimum salary.

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