Thirty-two NHL teams combined to place 71 players on waivers Sunday as rosters were trimmed ahead of the 2026-27 regular season, which opens Tuesday with the Edmonton Oilers hosting the Vancouver Canucks among the night’s marquee matchups.
The Montreal Canadiens led the league with nine players waived, including veteran goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen and defenceman Maksymilian Szuber, according to Daily Faceoff’s Sept. 27 waiver report. The Ottawa Senators were next with eight, including forward Tyler Boucher.
Four experienced goaltenders hit the wire in the same batch: David Rittich of the New Jersey Devils, Dylan Garand of the New York Rangers, Laurent Brossoit of the Anaheim Ducks and Vitek Vanecek of the New York Islanders, leaving a thin market for any team still shopping for help between the pipes. Notable skaters waived included Vegas Golden Knights forward Alexander Holtz and defenceman Ville Heinola, along with Boston Bruins defenceman Henri Jokiharju, per The Hockey Writers.
Two players were claimed off waivers Sunday. Defenceman Justin Barron went from the Nashville Predators to the St. Louis Blues, and goaltender Remi Poirier moved from the Dallas Stars to the New Jersey Devils. The wire also carried established depth forwards such as Florida’s Sam Lafferty, Colorado’s Vinnie Hinostroza and Dallas’s Colin Blackwell as teams settled on their 23-man limits before Tuesday’s opening-night deadline.
In Boston, the Bruins made David Pastrnak the 28th captain in franchise history on Saturday, ending a leadership vacancy that opened when Brad Marchand departed. Pastrnak, who has spent all 12 of his NHL seasons with Boston and ranks sixth on the franchise’s all-time scoring list with 933 points, will wear the C for the first time Tuesday when the Bruins open their season against the New York Rangers.
Pastrnak said he learned of the decision only a day or two before it was made public, in a meeting with general manager Don Sweeney and team president Cam Neely. “I’ve been grateful my whole career to be learning from some unbelievable leaders,” Pastrnak said, according to NHL.com, citing former captains Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Marchand as influences. Bruins coach Marco Sturm said Pastrnak’s style differs from those predecessors. “He’s definitely not a Chara and not a Bergeron as a leader, but that’s OK,” Sturm said. “Very, very positive, always with a smile.”
Elsewhere, the Anaheim Ducks had already settled their own captaincy question, naming Mikael Granlund captain on Sept. 22. The 34-year-old, in his second season in Anaheim, replaces Radko Gudas, who was traded to Florida in June. General manager Pat Verbeek said Granlund “leads by example and exemplifies how a captain carries themselves on and off the ice.”
The moves close out a preseason in which the Oilers posted the NHL’s only unbeaten exhibition record at 4-0-0, before Tuesday’s opener in Edmonton against Vancouver officially opens the 2026-27 schedule.
