The NHL’s waiver period officially opened on Thursday, which means the Montreal Canadiens can now start to evaluate whether players who have been placed on the waiver wire may provide some long-term value.
It doesn’t happen very often, but once in a while, the Habs have used waivers to snag a useful player such as Johnathan Kovacevic for free.
The biggest name added to the waiver wire on the opening day was 2018 first-round pick Ty Smith, an offensively-inclined defenceman with a very reasonable cap hit.
Smith was not claimed, but goaltender Spencer Martin will have a new home, as he was claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
NHL Waivers For September 29th
Friday’s list has more names, but fewer good targets.
Keaton Middleton (Defenceman, Colorado Avalanche), Spencer Smallman (Right wing, Colorado Avalanche), Tyler Wotherspoon (Defenceman, New Jersey Devils), Adam Gaudette (St-Louis) as well as a handful of New York Rangers players, were placed on waivers.
It should be noted that former Hab Alex Belzile was also among the players added to the waiver wire by the Rangers.
NHL CBA Waiver-Wire Priority List Refresher
For now, the off-season priority list is locked in and will give teams that finished lower in the standings last year the first opportunity to claim a player that is placed on waivers.
For example, the Montreal Canadiens finished 28th last year, therefore they are the team with the fifth highest priority on the NHL’s waiver wire list. Teams have 24 hours to make a claim.
The off-season list will remain in place until November 1, when it will switch from using last season’s standings to this year’s standings to determine priority.
Simply put, the Canadiens will maintain the fifth-best position on the waiver wire priority list for at least a month. The Columbus Blue Jackets will also maintain their high priority despite claiming Martin on Friday.
To get a better understanding of the NHL’s waiver wire priority process, you can click here.
Here is the current NHL waiver-priority list, which is valid until November 1:
| Teams | Waiver Priority Order |
|---|---|
| Anaheim Ducks | 1 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 2 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 3 |
| San Jose Sharks | 4 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 5 |
| Arizona Coyotes | 6 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 7 |
| Washington Capitals | 8 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 9 |
| St-Louis Blues | 10 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 11 |
| Ottawa Senators | 12 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 13 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 14 |
| Nashville Predators | 15 |
| Florida Panthers | 16 |
| Calgary Flames | 17 |
| NY Islanders | 18 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 19 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 20 |
| Seattle Kraken | 21 |
| Minnesota Wild | 22 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 23 |
| NY Rangers | 24 |
| Dallas Stars | 25 |
| Colorado Avalanche | 26 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 27 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | 28 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 29 |
| New Jersey Devils | 30 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 31 |
| Boston Bruins | 32 |
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