70 players placed on waivers on day before NHL rosters are finalized

The flood of moves capped a chaotic four-day stretch of preseason cuts, and Sunday's additions leaned heavily on goaltenders and depth veterans looking to clear waivers before being sent to the minors.

Washington made the day's biggest single move, placing four players on waivers as it trimmed its training camp roster to 24 players. Goaltender Clay Stevenson headlines the group after a strong four-game NHL stint last season, going 3-1-0 with a .921 save percentage.

He's joined by forwards Jonny Brodzinski and Spencer Smallman, plus defenseman Louie Belpedio. All four need to clear waivers before the Capitals can officially assign them to AHL Hershey.

Elsewhere, the position group of the day was clearly goaltending. The Edmonton Oilers waived Matt Tomkins, the New York Islanders put Vitek Vanecek on the wire, and the Rangers waived Dylan Garand along with forward Taylor Raddysh. Utah Mammoth also placed forward Ben McCartney on waivers as the club continues sorting out its bottom-six mix.

Sunday's names add to an already historic run of preseason waivers. Friday alone saw 61 players placed on the wire in one of the largest single-day totals in recent memory, a group that included veterans like Brandon Tanev, Oskar Sundqvist and Eric Comrie. Saturday brought another 18 names, led by the Islanders' Pierre Engvall and Bruins winger Lukas Reichel.

With the 2026-27 season opener set for September 29 and the new CBA trimming preseason games from six to four, teams have less time than usual to evaluate their depth.

That's part of why the waiver wire has been so busy all weekend, as clubs try to squeeze every eligible player through the 24-hour waiting period before Monday's roster crunch. Expect a few more names to trickle in before the deadline hits, with most expected to clear and head to the AHL.

Also read on House Of Hockey :
Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies show support after tragedy hits the hockey world