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.

Feb. 26: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Pittsburgh Penguins have placed forward Matthew Nieto on waivers. Should he clear waivers over the next 24 hours, the Penguins can safely reassign him to their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

It’s the second time in his career that Nieto has been placed on waivers and his first as a Penguin. His last time on the waiver wire came back in 2017 when Nieto was claimed off waivers from the San Jose Sharks by the Colorado Avalanche.

The news is unsurprising given Nieto has been an oft-scratched member of Pittsburgh’s forward core for much of February. Since being activated from the team’s injured reserve in mid-November, Nieto has played in 31 of the Penguins’ 42 games despite being healthy for all of them.

Similarly to last year, Nieto hasn’t been all that productive when healthy, either. Nieto signed a two-year, $1.8MM contract with Pittsburgh in the 2023-24 offseason and has scored two goals and seven points in 53 games since.

Although he’s been confined to a bottom-six role for much of his tenure in Pittsburgh, the team was likely hoping for more offensive production. He’s been a productive bottom-six scorer for much of his career with several multi-goal and 20-point campaigns, but things haven’t worked out positively in western Pennsylvania. The 12-year NHL veteran may find a home in another team’s bottom-six but odds are he’ll be packing his bags for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton by tomorrow.

Feb. 26: The Wild announced that defenseman Travis Dermott has been placed on waivers. The move will open up a roster spot for an additional AHL recall tomorrow after swapping out Jakub Lauko for Joel Eriksson Ek on injured reserve this morning.

Dermott has only been waived once during his pro career, which is how the Wild acquired him from the Oilers in December. Minnesota needed an experienced presence on the blue line then, with Jonas Brodin and Jacob Middleton on the shelf. However, Dermott’s role has evaporated since the Wild have gotten healthier on the blue line. He’s made nine appearances since the claim over two months ago, going without a point or hit while averaging a paltry 11:23 per game.

Minnesota has carried eight defensemen for much of the last few months. However, with the suspended Ryan Hartman taking up the usual roster spot they devote for an extra forward, they need another body on offense for their two-game road trip that starts Thursday in Utah. It’s unclear who exactly the corresponding recall from AHL Iowa will be, but a forward will be Dermott’s replacement on the active roster tomorrow.

If Edmonton submits a claim for Dermott before tomorrow’s deadline and is the only team to do so, they could send him directly to their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield without having to expose him to the wire again. However, if he clears, it will mark Dermott’s first non-conditioning AHL assignment in seven years.

Appearing in each of the last eight NHL seasons, Dermott has a career 16-46–62 scoring line in 348 games with the Oilers, Wild, Coyotes, Canucks, and Maple Leafs. Injuries have limited Dermott’s playing time over the last few years, but the 28-year-old lefty can also play his off-side comfortably, making him a valuable depth asset. Selected 34th overall by Toronto in the 2015 draft, he has decent career possession numbers with a 50.9 CF% and cumulative +23.4 expected rating at even strength, so he remains a decent replacement-level player in bottom-pairing usage despite his lack of offense.

Feb. 23: The Utah Hockey Club’s return to health on the blue line has led to some difficult roster decisions, notably losing defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok on waivers to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Today, the team will attempt to send defenseman Juuso Välimäki through waivers, per a team announcement.

It’s not an unfamiliar situation for the former 16th overall selection of the 2017 NHL Draft. Välimäki was claimed off waivers from the Calgary Flames at the beginning of the 2022-23 season by the Arizona Coyotes and has remained with the team through their move to Salt Lake City, UT.

At the time, the Coyotes appeared to have the steal of the season on the waiver wire after Välimäki broke out for four goals and 30 assists in 78 games in his first year with the organization. Arizona was uniquely positioned to allow Välimäki into a top-four role with the club — something the Flames couldn’t do at the time. Unfortunately, the Tampere, Finland native didn’t respond as well with increased responsibility last year.

He improved defensively as evidenced by his +12 rating over 68 appearances and career-high 92.5% on-ice save percentage at even strength. However, his offensive production was cut in half scoring two goals and 17 points despite increasing his average time on ice by approximately a minute.

This year has brought an even larger drop-off for Välimäki. Although Utah has dealt with multiple injuries on the blue line, Välimäki has seen his average ice time drop by two and a half minutes. Falling offensively and defensively, he’s scored two goals and three assists in 43 games with a -5 rating.

Välimäki’s disappointing output could be a blessing in disguise for Utah should they hope to retain him. Even though he’s making an affordable $2MM this year and next, his production has given that contract a slight negative value meaning other teams may let him pass through unclaimed.

Feb. 20: The Islanders have placed defenseman Dennis Cholowski on waivers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He’ll head down to AHL Bridgeport if he clears.

New York is set to come out of the break with an open roster spot, but there’s a high likelihood of Scott Mayfield and Ryan Pulock coming off standard IR and LTIR, respectively, before Sunday’s game against the Stars. Assigning Cholowski to the minors tomorrow or losing him to another team will open the second spot they need to activate both.

Cholowski, who turned 27 earlier this week, has seen his most extended NHL usage in a half-decade this season. Injuries on the Long Island blue-line have meant Cholowski, who began the year as the Isles’ seventh defenseman, has played in 33 of 55 games. Minutes have been hard to come by – his 12:48 ATOI is the lowest among New York defensemen with multiple appearances – but he’s been effective in them with a 3-7–10 scoring line and a plus-one rating. He’s far from physically involved, recording 30 blocks and only five hits, but the 2016 first-rounder has been a decent depth puck-mover in his return to semi-regular NHL minutes.

Unfortunately for him, how the Islanders responded to injuries to Pulock and Noah Dobson muddied his role down the stretch. They picked up a trio of puck-movers – Adam Boqvist, Tony DeAngelo, and Scott Perunovich – who all have more experience or a higher ceiling than Cholowski. It’s not a huge surprise the 6’2″ lefty is the odd man out upon Pulock’s return instead of any of their new pickups.

Cholowski has seen AHL action in all six of his professional seasons leading up to the 2024-25 campaign. If he clears, he’ll land a seventh, but there’s a decent chance a team looking for a cheap depth option makes a claim. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent on a league minimum contract, so there’s zero financial risk if he doesn’t pan out.

A claim would mean Cholowski moves to his fifth NHL organization. Since being drafted 20th overall by the Red Wings and spending three seasons in Detroit, he’s made stops with the Capitals and Kraken in addition to his time in Long Island. Cholowski initially landed with the Isles in free agency in 2022 after being non-tendered by Seattle.

Feb. 20, 1:04 p.m.: Barrie has indeed hit waivers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Feb. 20, 11:52 a.m.: The Flames will place defenseman Tyson Barrie on waivers today, per Frank Seravalli of Sportsnet. If no team issues a claim, he’ll head to AHL Calgary.

Saying Barrie has barely played this season would be an understatement. After catching on in Calgary on a camp tryout and subsequently landing a one-year, $1.25MM deal, the 33-year-old has failed to mesh. He’s made just 13 appearances despite remaining healthy for the entirety of the campaign, recording a goal and two assists with a minus-seven rating while averaging 15:48 per game, the lowest deployment of his 14-year career.

Between mid-November and mid-January, Barrie went more than two months without playing, eventually seeing two games of AHL ice on a conditioning stint that didn’t require waivers. He posted another goal and two assists in those contests and was back in the NHL less than a week later. He’s skated in four games since that conditioning stint wrapped up but, despite recording an assist in his return against the Capitals on Jan. 28, posted a negative rating in all of those appearances. He was again scratched for three of Calgary’s final four contests before the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Thus, the Barrie experiment with the Flames is all but over. They recalled youngsters Yan Kuznetsov and Ilya Solovyov from the minors yesterday, so they’ll be the ones responsible for taking over the veteran’s limited NHL minutes.

Whether anyone wants to take a flyer on the former top-four option, who had 55 points as recently as two years ago with the Oilers and Predators, remains to be seen. The 2009 third-round pick has a 110-398–508 scoring line in 822 career appearances with Colorado, Edmonton, Nashville, Toronto, and Calgary, ranking ninth in scoring among defensemen since he debuted in the 2011-12 campaign. His career -83 rating is also the 10th-worst among D-men during that span, though, and power-play points have accounted for 42% of his career total.

Waiving Barrie gives the Flames the roster spot they’ll need to activate Connor Zary from injured reserve ahead of their return to play this weekend against the Sharks. Zary’s missed 15 games with a lower-body injury but has practiced with Calgary this week, so he may be an option.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Feb. 11th: According to a report from PuckPedia, the Minnesota Wild have placed depth forward Devin Shore on waivers to reassign him to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. It is the fourth time the Wild have placed Shore on waivers this season.

Minnesota chose to waive Shore just six days before he would have required them for reassignment. With his next NHL game not scheduled until February 22nd, the move presented a timely opportunity for the Wild to manage their salary cap.

Despite the four waiver placements, the 10-year NHL veteran has spent most of the year in Minnesota. He’s scored one goal and two assists in 34 games averaging 8:28 of ice time per night in a fourth-line role. His multiple passes through waivers have given him considerable action with AHL Iowa, scoring two goals and 10 points in 14 games this year.

Given his $775K salary, the transaction won’t offer significant cap savings, but the Wild deemed the move worthwhile. If he clears waivers over the next 24 hours, Minnesota could recall Shore on February 21 or 22, giving them another 30 days or 10 games on the active roster before requiring waivers again.

2/9: The Seattle Kraken announced a trio of roster moves on Sunday. Most notably, the team has placed forward Mitchell Stephens on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to the minor leagues. Stephens has appeared in Seattle’s  last 16 games. He contributed two points, six penalty minutes, and a minus-four while averaging just north of nine minutes in ice time. Seattle also reassigned defenseman Cale Fleury and goaltender Ales Stezka to the AHL, and recalled goaltender Victor Ostman from the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks.

Seattle does not play again until February 22nd, likely indicating that the moves of Stephens, Fleury, and Stezka are headed for AHL playing time during the 4-Nations Face-Off break. Ostman has been recalled to keep the team roster-compliant, and could be in store for an impromptu vacation while the team takes the next two weeks off. Ostman is playing in his rookie professional season this year, after spending the last four seasons vying for the starting role at the University of Maine. He’s performed well in his first pro games, already winning out the Mavericks’ starting role with an impressive 18-7-4 record and .905 save percentage in 29 games played. Ostman is playing in front of seasoned pro Jack LaFontaine, who has a 10-4-1 record and .904 Sv% in 16 games.

While Ostman questions what warm destination he’ll spend the next two weeks in, the Kraken will hold their breath to see if Stephens stays with the club while passing through waivers. He’s been a career depth-forward, alternating between the NHL and AHL lineups over the last six seasons. That stretch started in the 2019-20 season when Stephens made his NHL debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning, then had his name etched into the Stanley Cup just a few months later. He recorded six points, 10 penalty minutes, and a minus-nine in 38 games as an NHL rookie – with all four stats still standing as career-highs. Stephens has played in 82 NHL games in parts of four seasons since then, but only managed 13 points. He’s been far more productive in the minors, totaling 92 points in 139 AHL games since the start of the 2020-21 season. Stephens will get a chance to return to his AHL productivity, should he pass through waivers unclaimed.

Englund, 29, was a second-round pick by the Senators back in 2014 and has skated in parts of seven NHL seasons since making his debut in Seattle in 2016-17. He’s only recently emerged as a roster fixture, though, factoring in solely as a bottom-pair enforcer. He played in all 82 games for Los Angeles last year after signing a two-year, $2MM contract, leading the club with 81 PIMs and 189 hits while averaging 13:13 per game. His career 2-16–18 scoring line with a -17 rating in 173 NHL games doesn’t inspire confidence that he’ll ever be anything else, and as such, he lost his regular spot with the Kings in 2024-25 and has only factored into 11 games, including an active run of 13 consecutive scratches leading into the break.

The move marks Englund’s third stint in the Central Division. He skated in 47 games split between the Avalanche and Blackhawks in 2022-23, his first year back in the NHL after spending two years buried in the minors.

His claim doesn’t spell good news for injured defender Jeremy Lauzon, who Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean now suspects could sit out the remainder of the season with the lower-body injury that’s kept him out of the lineup since New Year’s Eve. The 6’4″ Englund is an apt replacement for the heavy hitter, who led the league with 386 last season. A pending UFA, Englund will likely serve in a support role down the stretch while names like Nick Blankenburg and Adam Wilsby, the latter of which just signed a two-year extension, see routine deployment.

Originally an Ottawa Senators draft pick in 2014, Englund has fallen into the role of journeyman depth defender since leaving the Senators for a minor-league deal in Colorado in 2021. He’s a bruting six-foot-four, 200-pound defenseman who racked up over 100 penalty minutes in 57 games of the 2021-22 AHL season. That physical presence was enough to earn him an NHL deal and routine role with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022-23. He played 36 games with the NHL Colorado, and 15 games in the AHL, and scored three points in both leagues. He was traded late in the year to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for veteran defender Jack Johnson. Englund finished his year with 11 games and one point in the Chicago lineup.

The Blackhawks let Englund walk to free agency in the following summer, where he’d ultimately land a two-year, $2MM contract with the Kings. He’d go on to play in all 82 games of Los Angeles’ 2023-24 campaign. That consistency allowed him to set 10 points and 81 penalty minutes, both career-highs at the NHL level. He hasn’t had the same bid for the lineup this year, and now seems poised to spend the Kings’ two-weeks break on a return trip to the minor leagues.

Meanwhile, Copley has been the forgotten third in Los Angeles’ goalie room. He’s played in just one NHL game this season – a 2-1 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs in October. Copley has been far more active in the minor leagues this year. In 20 games with the Ontario Reign, he’s set a 13-7-0 record and .906 save percentage. His save percentage leads the trio of Reign goaltenders, but his 13 wins are tied with Erik Portillo’s mark through 22 games. Portillo and Copley should rotate starts over the next two weeks, and the latter’s stay in the minors could stick now that Los Angeles has starter Darcy Kuemper back to full health.

Feb. 8: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Pittsburgh Penguins have placed forward Jesse Puljujärvi on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract. Puljujärvi would become an unrestricted free agent should he go unclaimed over the next 24 hours.

It is an anticipated conclusion to a relationship that has seemingly deteriorated over the past two months. The Penguins placed Puljujärvi on regular waivers on December 30 and officially reassigned him on January 14th, a few weeks later.

The former fourth-overall selection in the 2016 NHL Draft has been reassigned for a second time recently. Over the past month, he has primarily played with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL. His performance has been respectable, recording one goal and three points in four AHL games. However, the Penguins have decided to move forward without him in their organization.

Unfortunately, Puljujärvi’s potential as a prospect has drastically diminished. Since returning to the NHL for the 2020-21 season, he has scored 40 goals and 90 points in 243 games for the Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Pittsburgh Penguins.

His production will ultimately limit his traction as an unrestricted free agent. Some teams may offer the Älvkarleby, Sweden native a bottom-six role down the stretch but Puljujärvi may be limited to more of a taxi role if he chooses to stay in North America.

Kolyachonok, 23, now joins his fourth NHL franchise. He was initially selected 52nd overall in the 2019 draft by the Panthers, who traded him to the Coyotes in the Anton Strålman offseason deal in 2021. The Belarusian defender jumped with his former Arizona teammates to Utah last summer but now finds himself headed east to Pittsburgh.

The interest in Kolyachonok stems from his two-way upside. He has decent size at 6’2″ and 195 lbs and has put up decent totals in the minors, recording 13-35–48 with a +12 rating in 150 career AHL games. None of those contests have come in 2024-25, as a revolving door of injuries on the Utah blue line meant he’s spent the entire season on the NHL roster. He was passable in a depth role, logging 2-3–5 with 19 blocks and 14 hits in 23 appearances. His underlying numbers were strong, posting a 52.9 CF% at even strength and a +1.7 expected rating, grading out better defensively than his actual minus-seven rating would otherwise indicate.

Pittsburgh hopes to tap into his remaining upside. At present, he’s an upgrade over their current seventh defenseman, Ryan Shea, who’s logged just three points in 53 games since making his NHL debut last season with middling possession impacts. He’ll likely knock Shea off the NHL roster if Pittsburgh needs to open space, but whether the lefty works his way into the lineup over Ryan Graves, Matt Grzelcyk, or Pierre-Olivier Joseph remains to be seen.

Utah could reclaim Kolyachonok and send him directly to the minors if the Penguins place him on waivers again this season, although they’d need to be the only team to submit a claim to do so.

Feb. 7th: The Sharks waived center Colin White on Friday and will presumably assign him to AHL San Jose if he clears, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. It’s unclear if there will be a corresponding transaction tomorrow.

San Jose signed White, 28, two weeks ago to the day. The former Senators first-rounder-turned-journeyman had spent the first part of the season on an AHL deal within the organization, posting 5-4–9 in 20 games with a minus-three rating.

White didn’t get much of a look in the Sharks’ lineup, although his signing was always meant to give them a short-term veteran injury replacement with names like Klim Kostin and Nico Sturm on the shelf. He’s been rostered for their last five games but only played in three, going without a point and averaging a career-low 7:18 per game. He went just 3-for-13 on faceoffs, managed a lone shot on goal, and got out-attempted 22-18 when on the ice at even strength.

It extends a regular-season pointless streak for White that now stretches back 46 games to March 16, 2023, when he was still a member of the Panthers organization. He failed to record a point in the final 14 games of the campaign before going pointless in all 31 appearances he made last season with the Canadiens and Penguins.

The 6’1″ pivot’s chances of ever reclaiming a full-time NHL role seem quite slim given his lack of even average numbers anywhere in his game, as well as some underwhelming AHL stat lines over the past couple of years. It’s a far cry from the 14-goal, 41-point form he flashed in Ottawa six years ago, but with his development derailed by shoulder injuries, he hasn’t been able to sniff that level of performance since then. White should go unclaimed and remain in the Sharks organization as a recall option for the remainder of the season, after which he’ll be an unrestricted free agent.

Feb. 7th: The Flyers have placed center Anthony Richard on waivers with intent to reassign him to AHL Lehigh Valley, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Friday. Whether he clears or not, he’ll be the second corresponding transaction as the Flyers look to activate Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier from the non-roster list before tomorrow’s game against the Penguins after reassigning forward Jacob Gaucher earlier today.

Richard, 28, has played eight straight games since being recalled on Jan. 22. It was the smooth-skating pivot’s second recall of the season after a weeks-long trial in the NHL back in November.

The ninth-year pro signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Flyers in the offseason and has been a quality depth scorer when called upon. He has two goals and four assists across the pair of recalls, averaging 12:22 per game with good possession numbers (49.4 CF%, +2.2 expected rating at even strength). It’s the 5’10” forward’s third straight season seeing NHL ice after brief action with the Canadiens and Bruins in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

A longtime farmhand in the Predators’ system after they selected him fourth overall in 2015, he’s suited up for five organizations in the past four years after a mid-season trade in 2022 sent him to the Lightning. He was a decent depth scorer there but has only broken out in earnest post-COVID, clicking above a point per game in the minors since 2022-23. When on assignment to Lehigh Valley this season, Richard has 8-11–19 in 18 games with a plus-six rating.

The Quebec native needed waivers today because he’s played more than 10 games since last clearing during training camp. His strong point production in both leagues this season and experience playing down the middle means there’s a solid chance an offense-needy team takes a flyer on the veteran on the wire, but if not, Philly will be thrilled to keep him around as a reliable recall option.

Feb. 7th: The Devils placed defenseman Santeri Hatakka on waivers Friday for the purposes of reassignment to AHL Utica, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. The move indicates he’s been cleared to play after spending the first four months of the season on injured reserve due to shoulder surgery.

The 24-year-old Hatakka will aim to get back up to game speed in Utica and quickly challenge for a recall, assuming he clears. The Devils are down a defenseman with Jonas Siegenthaler dealing with an undisclosed injury, and top prospect Simon Nemec struggled in his first game back with the team last night in their loss to the Golden Knights after a months-long AHL stint. There’s an opening for Hatakka to return to NHL action once his conditioning is where it needs to be.

This is the first year Hatakka has needed waivers to head to the minors. As a result, the Finnish prospect was a frequent flyer between Newark and Utica last season. He signed a two-way deal with a $125K AHL salary as a restricted free agent last summer before aiming to grab a spot on the opening night roster. However, that pathway was muddied for him with the Devils’ signings of Brenden Dillon and Brett Pesce in free agency (as well as the trade acquisition of Johnathan Kovacevic) even before his late-preseason shoulder injury.

Hatakka, acquired from the Sharks in the Timo Meier trade in 2023, skated in 12 NHL games for Jersey last year and recorded two assists with a plus-five rating. He averaged 14:39 per game and had 12 blocks and 14 hits, putting up a perfectly serviceable 49.8 CF% at even strength in bottom pairing usage. The 2019 sixth-rounder is an intriguing third-pairing option for the long haul, especially after posting 5-15–20 in 48 games for Utica last season.