More than 50 NHL players were placed on waivers Friday as teams raced to meet the league’s roster deadline, a day that also saw Jordan Kyrou score in overtime to lift the Washington Capitals past the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers close out their exhibition schedule with a lopsided win over the Islanders.
NHL clubs must submit cap-compliant, 23-man opening-night rosters to the league by 5 p.m. ET on Sept. 28, the day before the 2026-27 regular season begins, and any player who needs to clear waivers before being sent to the minors had to be placed on the wire Friday to make that deadline, according to Daily Faceoff. Utah Mammoth forward Brandon Tanev was among the more notable names on a list that ran into the dozens, HockeyBuzz reported. A day earlier, the Vancouver Canucks claimed goaltender Leevi Merilainen off waivers.
In Washington, Kyrou scored 11 seconds into overtime to give the Capitals a 3-2 win in Boston’s preseason finale, according to NHL.com. Dylan Strome opened the scoring on the power play in the first period, and Tom Wilson made it 2-0 with a man-advantage goal in the second, with Pierre-Luc Dubois picking up two assists. David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie scored for Boston to force overtime before Kyrou’s winner. Logan Thompson made 20 saves for Washington, which improved to 2-0-1 in the preseason, while Jeremy Swayman stopped 32 shots as the Bruins finished their exhibition slate at 2-2-0.
At UBS Arena, the Rangers capped their preseason with a 6-1 win over the Islanders. Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller each had a goal and an assist, Adam Fox added three assists, and Oliver Bjorkstrand and Tye Kartye also scored for New York, which finished the exhibition schedule 2-2-0. Igor Shesterkin made 15 saves. Pierre Engvall scored the lone goal for the Islanders, who finished 1-2-0 in preseason play, and Semyon Varlamov allowed six goals on 27 shots, per NHL.com.
The wave of moves is standard for this time of year: teams routinely finalize training-camp cuts in the days before opening night, and Friday’s waiver list is expected to be followed by a smaller round of reassignments through the weekend as clubs lock in their 23-man rosters. Both the Capitals and Rangers now shift focus to the regular season, which opens leaguewide Sept. 29, the same night the Oilers host the Canucks in Edmonton.
