With the NHL season opening in early days, Vancouver maintains first waiver priority through Nov. 1 and faces a new set of September 24 waiver options.
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The Vancouver Canucks remain positioned to take players via waivers with “first waiver priority,” a status they hold until November 1, according to the waiver plan described in the report as the league moves toward the start of the season.
The Canucks’ priority means that after finishing last in the NHL standings last season, they are able to claim players placed on waivers by other clubs before teams with lower priority, potentially offering Vancouver roster flexibility in the final stretch of roster-cut deadlines.
On September 23, multiple organizations placed players on waivers and the Canucks passed over several names that day, including Boston’s Maxence Guenette (D), Columbus’ Phoenix Copley (G), James Malatesta (F) and Owen Sillinger (F), Colorado’s Domenick Fensore (D) and Christian Wolanin (D), Detroit’s Ronald Attard (D) and Wilmer Skoog (F), and Nashville’s Ozzy Wiesblatt (F).
The September 23 list also included players from the Rangers, Flyers, Penguins, Sharks, Lightning, Maple Leafs, Vegas, and others, as well as three Canucks themselves: Cole Clayton (D), Trey Fix-Wolansky (F) and Jimmy Schuldt (D).
The report says all 34 players from the September 23 waivers cleared, citing a post from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that stated “all 34 players from yesterday’s waivers cleared.”
The Canucks also placed another player on waivers on September 24, putting Matthew Stienburg (F) in the process described, after three Canucks from the previous day’s waiver placement cleared.
A new group of players then hit the waiver wire on September 24, including players associated with the Hurricanes, Stars, Kings, Wild, Predators, Senators, Penguins, and Maple Leafs, along with one additional Canucks player mentioned as Stienburg.
From the Canucks’ perspective, the September 24 waiver crop described includes players 25 or younger at the time of waiver, with the report identifying names across forward and defensive positions and two goaltending options.
Among the specific younger options listed are Carolina’s Viktor Neuchev (F), Zachary Sawchenko (G) and Ronan Seeley (D); Dallas’ Kyle Burroughs (D) and Matthew Seminoff (F); and Los Angeles’ Martin Chromiak (F), Cole Guttman (F), Joe Hicketts (D), Lane Pederson (F) and Francesco Pinelli (F).
Minnesota’s listed September 24 group is Caeden Bankier (F), Dylan Gambrell (F), Matt Kiersted (D), Justin Kirkland (F), Carson Lambos (D), Tyler Pitlick (F), Roman Schmidt (D) and Mason Shaw (F), while Nashville’s is Matthew Murray (G).
Ottawa’s listed option is Leevi Merilainen (G), and Pittsburgh’s is Philip Kemp (D). Toronto’s waiver group on September 24 is described as including Brendan Brisson (F), Vinni Lettieri (F), Steven Lorentz (F), Philippe Myers (D), Michael Pezzetta (F), Marshal Rifai (D), Henrik Rybinski (F) and Ryan Tverberg (F).
The report also highlights why certain names may stand out for Vancouver, using past American Hockey League production and limited NHL experience as the basis for those assessments.
At forward, it points to Matthew Seminoff and Martin Chromiak as notable options. Seminoff is described as a 6-foot winger selected in 2022 who scored 24 goals and 50 points in 72 games with the Texas Stars last season, while Chromiak is described as a 6-foot winger drafted in 2020 with four seasons of production with the Ontario Reign, totaling 76 goals and 155 points in 265 games, including a 28-goal, 56-point season in the most recent campaign referenced.
For Toronto, the report also notes Brendan Brisson as a potential target, describing him as coming off an AHL season of 19 goals and 37 points, having been a first-round pick in 2020 (29th overall), and having played 27 NHL games across the last three seasons.
On the defensive side, it identifies Carson Lambos as a name to watch, describing him as a 2021 first-round pick (26th overall) who has not reached 20 points in any of his three AHL seasons but has had NHL action last season with the Minnesota Wild.
For goaltending, Leevi Merilainen is presented as the most consequential option in the September 24 group. The report says Merilainen is 24 and has played NHL games in three of the last four seasons, but it also provides statistical context from both recent and earlier NHL stretches, including a line of 3.51 goals-against average and a .860 save percentage in 20 games last season.
The report adds that Merilainen is two years removed from a 12-game NHL stint with a 1.99 goals-against average, a .925 save percentage and an 8-3-1 record, including three shutouts.
It further frames the practical significance for Vancouver in terms of roster risk management, noting Thatcher Demko’s health being in question at the start of the season and the possibility that the organization might consider claiming Merilainen depending on whether they view the crease situation as a priority.
While the report frames which names it believes are “best options,” it does not say Vancouver has made a claim on any of the listed players—only that the waiver wire will determine whether those options can be secured.
Taken together, the sequence shows a clear chronology: the Canucks cleared their own September 23 waiver placements, all players from that day cleared, and then on September 24 Vancouver faced a fresh slate of younger players across forward, defensive and goaltending positions as the NHL season approaches.
The immediate practical impact for Vancouver is that the Canucks’ first-priority status gives them a structured window to add depth without holding exclusive negotiating rights, meaning the next waiver claim decisions—if any—can affect the organization’s depth chart quickly during the league’s final roster-adjustment period.
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