NHL preseason cutdowns: Wave of veteran skaters hit waivers as Opening Night approaches

Roster deadline pressure

With Opening Night rapidly approaching, National Hockey League general managers get hit with strict roster submission cutoffs, and it kicks off this frantic phase of training camp cutdowns that everyone pretends they’re calm about. All thirty-two franchises need to submit a fully compliant twenty-three-player roster to the league office, and it’s capped strictly under the salary upper limit. Since the mandatory waiver protocol basically forces a full twenty-four-hour duration for players to clear, front offices end up doing “moves” earlier than you’d think. So naturally a lot of depth talent, plus proven NHL regulars, get pushed onto the wire each day as teams try to send surplus roster pieces down toward their primary American Hockey League affiliates.

Veterans hit waivers

Looking at the recent transaction logs, there’s this clear run of experienced NHL skaters going through the waiver process. Established blue-liners like Ethan Bear, Dennis Cholowski, and Derrick Pouliot, plus tenured forwards such as Steven Lorentz, Justin Dowling, and Tyler Pitlick, have all been placed onto waivers by their respective clubs. Teams squeezed by salary cap constraints often take the risk of exposing those proven veterans, betting that the league-wide inventory of available talent makes it harder for rival teams to want the added contract weight. For these guys, passing through waivers usually means an assignment to the minors but still staying on call for top-team recalls, like it’s just a temporary detour.

Young prospects prevail

This year’s roster reshuffle highlights how NHL teams are tilting toward youthful, cost-controlled labor. Rookie prospects and entry-level contract holders often end up nudging aside established veterans, especially for bottom-six forward jobs, and third-pair defensive roles- mainly because of strong preseason showings. Since younger players who are still waiver-exempt can bounce between leagues more freely, coaching staffs often lean into that and reward high-performing entry-level skaters with early main-roster roles. Meanwhile, they place non-exempt veterans on waivers, mostly to preserve usable depth, in case injuries or performance dips happen. General managers then have to weigh the tactical upside of keeping energetic young talent, against the operational risk that experienced depth assets could be taken with basically no compensation back.

Salary cap realities

Handling the waiver wire is a crucial balancing act between financial prudence and roster flexibility, and honestly it’s one of those things that never feels fully comfortable. When an exposed player gets claimed, the acquiring franchise takes over the existing contract in its entirety, which gives the waiving team immediate cap relief. On the other hand, if the skater clears the twenty-four-hour window with no claim, the placing team captures partial cap relief by sending the contract to the minor leagues while still keeping the player within the organization. As front offices finish their final calculations before the regular season begins, the waiver wire stays a primary mechanism for managing depth assets, working around cap ceilings, and locking in the final opening night lineups in real time.