NHL 2024-25 Waiver Wire: Pierre Engvall And Jakob Pelletier Among Sunday's Final Cut-Downs

NHL teams must have their rosters submitted tomorrow afternoon, meaning a plethora of players were placed on waivers today. There are a few names that definitely stand out.

After a couple of preview games in Prague, the NHL’s regular season is set to begin for real on Tuesday. The triple-header includes the banner raising for the Florida Panthers and the first-ever game for the Utah Hockey Club.

That means teams must have their cap-compliant rosters set by Monday at 5 p.m. ET. So Sunday is the last day to put players on waivers in hopes that they’ll clear and be assigned to the AHL.

The waiver window has been open since Sept. 27 and so far, just two players have been claimed. While the Jeremy Swayman contract stalemate was ongoing, the Boston Bruins grabbed goalie Jiri Patera from the Vancouver Canucks for extra insurance, and the Colorado Avalanche snagged defenseman John Ludvig from the New Jersey Devils.

Now that Swayman is signed, Patera is back on the wire again on Sunday. Here’s the full 59-player list, courtesy of PuckPedia:

Let’s take a look at the most intriguing players who are currently available for just the price of their contracts.

After acquiring him from the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2023 trade deadline, Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello made a massive commitment to the big Swede by signing him to a seven-year deal at a cap hit of $3 million a season.

Over 74 games last season, Engvall potted 10 goals and 28 points while averaging 15:20 a night. But Patrick Roy is now running the show, and Engvall didn’t have a great pre-season — pointless and a minus-five. Maxim Tsyplakov, the 26-year-old free agent signed by the Islanders out of Russia, beat him out for a job.

Engvall’s cap hit and term will likely insulate him from being claimed by another team. Look for the 28-year-old to start the year with AHL Bridgeport.

Another former Maple Leaf, Justin Holl, was also placed on waivers on Sunday. In 2023, Steve Yzerman signed the big right-shot defender to a three-year deal with a cap hit of $3.4 million. He ended up as a fringe player for the Detroit Red Wings, appearing in just 38 games.

Holl’s big ticket should also keep him clear of any waiver claims, so the 32-year-old could be headed to the Grand Rapids Griffins.

After Jack Campbell entered the player assistance program on Friday, the Red Wings still have three goalies on their roster: Ville Husso, Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon.

He was selected 26th overall in 2019, but injuries slowed Jakob Pelletier’s development and he has never quite been able to put his game together at the NHL level.

Last year, a training camp injury led to shoulder surgery that caused him to miss the first half of the season. When he returned, he bounced back and forth between the big club and the AHL.

This year, he was outplayed during camp by waiver-exempt forwards Sam Honzek, Matt Coronato and Adam Klapka. The Flames still have one more cut to make, so two of those three will be on Calgary’s opening-night roster.

Yes, you read that right. After signing as a free agent with the Colorado Avalanche on July 1, the 2017 first-round pick was acquired by the Vancouver Canucks in a trade on Sunday, then promptly placed on waivers.

Brannstrom adds some depth to the left side of the Canucks blue line, which is short on experience once you get past Quinn Hughes, Carson Soucy and Derek Forbort. But more importantly, the trade allowed GM Patrik Allvin to unload 80 percent of the last year of Tucker Poolman’s contract, which amounts to $2 million in valuable cap space. 

That should allow Allvin to achieve his goal of starting the season without using long-term injured reserve. If that's the case, the Canucks will be able to accrue cap space that they can use to bolster their lineup later in the year.

Swayman’s signing gave the Bruins four goalies on their roster. It’s no surprise to see Joonas Korpisalo set to partner up with Swayman, while Patera goes back on waivers along with 26-year-old Brandon Bussi, who has done good work with Providence of the AHL.

With Thatcher Demko still on the shelf, the Canucks are starting the season with a goalie tandem of Arturs Silovs and Kevin Lankinen. If they re-claim Patera, they’d be able to send him directly to AHL Abbotsford without putting him on waivers again, which would be a nice bit of extra depth while they wait for their Vezina finalist to get game-ready.