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Stunning developments on the waiver wire on Wednesday!
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- Stunning developments on the waiver wire on Wednesday!
Stunning developments on the waiver wire on Wednesday!
NHL teams had a full 24 hours to take a look at a loaded waiver wire featuring 15 players, including a pair of former first-round draft selections still carrying legitimate NHL experience.
Surprisingly, not a single one was claimed.
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According to Elliotte Friedman, every player placed on waivers cleared without a claim. The group included names from six different organizations, headlined by the New York Rangers ' Urho Vaakanainen and Dennis Cholowski , both of whom heard their names called in the first round of their respective drafts.
The fact that neither defenseman drew interest from any of the league's other 31 clubs raised eyebrows across the hockey world. Vaakanainen, a Finnish blueliner who arrived in New York as part of the Jacob Trouba trade, appeared in 34 games for the Rangers last season and recorded six assists. He is entering the second year of a two-year contract with a cap hit of just $1.55 million, a figure that would have been easy for a cap-strapped team to absorb.
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Cholowski, another former first-round defenseman, has struggled to find a permanent home in the NHL despite his draft pedigree. Both players were widely viewed as low-risk additions for any club looking to add blueline depth on the cheap heading into the regular season.
Yet no one bit.
The Rangers had placed four players on the wire in total, also including centers Justin Dowling and Juuso Parssinen . The Detroit Red Wings led all teams with six players waived, among them forward John Leonard , who posted 33 goals and 54 points in 47 AHL games last season and saw 11 games at the NHL level. Forward Dominik Shine , a longtime Grand Rapids fan favorite who earned his first extended NHL look with 18 games and three goals in 2024-25, also went unclaimed.
The New York Islanders placed defenseman Ethan Bear and goaltender Henrik Tikkanen on waivers, while the Dallas Stars waived goalie Brandon Halverson . Nashville 's Jake Lucchini and Washington 's Ludwig Persson rounded out the list.
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Online reaction was swift. One fan on social media expressed disbelief that Vaakanainen went unclaimed, writing, "Youre telling me NOBODY claimed Vaakanainen?"
All 15 players are now eligible to be assigned to their respective AHL affiliates. For Vaakanainen and Cholowski, the path forward likely runs through the minors unless a roster spot opens up in New York or another team comes calling via trade later in the season.
