Another big round of cuts across the NHL saw 18 players placed on NHL waivers on Saturday.
Among the most notable names to hit Saturday’s waiver wire were Islanders forward Pierre Engvall, Blue Jackets forward Miles Wood, and Bruins forward Alex Steeves. Engvall, a 6-foot-5 winger, is entering the fourth season of a seven-year, $21 million contract ($3M AAV) he signed with the Islanders. He missed all of last season after hip and ankle surgeries.
The most surprising cuts were recent first-round picks, Justin Barron and Lukas Reichel.
The Predators waived Barron after claiming blueliner William Trudeau from the Rangers earlier in the day. Barron, originally a 2020 first-round pick of the Avalanche, has already appeared in 208 NHL games, posting 52 games (18g, 34a). He re-signed with the Predators over the summer ($1.575 million) after the team said he “still has growth in his game” and that “he can skate and has a lot of physical tools.”
Reichel, 24, was selected 17th overall by the Blackhawks at the 2020 NHL Draft and has already played 198 NHL games, recording 62 points (23g, 39a). After stops with Chicago and Vancouver, Boston acquired him for a sixth-round pick at last season’s trade deadline and re-signed him to a one-year, $950,000 contract in May. Reichel spent part of Bruins training camp battling for an NHL roster spot before being placed on waivers Saturday. Notably, Reichel was a star of Germany’s 2026 Olympic team, posting three points in five tournament games.
The only Capitals player put on waivers Saturday was defenseman Justin Holl, who lost a battle with Dylan McIlrath for the team’s reserve defender spot. All four players that the Capitals put on waivers Friday — forwards Bogdan Trineyev and Josh Dunne, defenseman Jacob MacDonald, and goaltender Mitch Gibson — cleared and were assigned to Hershey.
The only other player claimed, beyond Trudeau with the Predators, was Detroit picking up Andreas Englund from Calgary.
Here’s the full waiver wire list, per PuckPedia.
18 players put on waivers on 9/26
Boston Bruins
Lukas Reichel
Alex Steeves
Columbus Blue Jackets
Miles Wood
Calgary Flames
Alexander Nylander
Dallas Stars
Florida Panthers
Tobias Björnfot
Angus Crookshank
Casey Fitzgerald
Los Angeles Kings
Nashville Predators
Justin Barron
New York Islanders
Mitchell Chaffee
Pierre Engvall
Liam Foudy
Daylan Kuefler
Matt Luff
