NHL waivers are the process a team must use before it can send most players to the minors or end their contracts: the player is offered to the other 31 clubs, which have 24 hours to put in a claim. Waivers are distributed at 2 p.m. ET each day, and claims are due by 2 p.m. ET the next day. If no team claims him, the player has "cleared" and can be assigned to the AHL. Young players are exempt for a set number of seasons or NHL games under Article 13 of the collective bargaining agreement, and a buried one-way contract in the AHL still counts against the cap for any amount above $1.225 million in 2026-27.
Updated for the 2026-27 season.
What are waivers in hockey?
Waivers are a league-run process, handled by the NHL's Central Registry, that gives every other team a chance to take a player before his club moves him off the NHL roster. Article 13 of the NHL-NHLPA CBA recognizes two kinds:
- Regular waivers, which a team needs in order to loan (assign) a non-exempt player to a minor league club.
- Unconditional waivers, which a team needs before it can terminate a player's contract, including a buyout.
Under Section 13.2, a non-exempt player can be loaned to the minors only if he has cleared regular waivers and has not since played 10 or more NHL games or spent more than 30 days, cumulative, on an NHL roster. Once he passes either mark, he has to clear waivers again before he can be sent down. A player on waivers cannot be traded or loaned until the waiver period ends.
How do NHL waivers work?
A team notifies the league that it is placing a player on waivers. Every other club can then submit a claim during the waiver period. One of three things happens:
- No claims: the player clears and his team may loan him to a minor league club, per Section 13.18.
- One claim: the player is transferred to that team.
- Several claims: the player goes to the claiming team with the highest waiver priority (see claim order below).
Defenseman Cameron Crotty is a 2026-27 example: Ottawa waived him in October, he ended up with Minnesota, and Vancouver claimed him off waivers from the Wild on Nov. 10, 2026, TSN reported.
What time do NHL waivers clear?
The 24-hour window runs from 2 p.m. ET to 2 p.m. ET. The CBA's written schedule in Section 13.18 processes waiver requests at noon New York time with the period expiring at noon the next day, but the league began distributing waivers at 2 p.m. ET each day starting in the 2021-22 season, as reported by Chris Johnston. That is still the practice: The Hockey Writers noted during 2026 training camps that players placed on waivers are announced at 2 p.m. ET, and Daily Faceoff's daily waiver reports say claims are announced around 2 p.m. ET the following day.
Waivers run seven days a week; a player placed on waivers Sunday is decided Monday.
What does it mean to clear waivers in the NHL?
A player "clears waivers" when the 24-hour period ends without a single claim. His team keeps his rights and can assign him to its AHL affiliate. Clearing does not last forever: under Section 13.5, the right to send him down without new waivers expires once he plays 10 NHL games or spends 30 days on the NHL roster after being recalled. Games played while on an emergency recall are counted separately.
Under the 2025 CBA extension, a player assigned to the AHL must play in a minor league game before his NHL club can recall him, NHL.com reported. That ended "paper" loans, in which a player was moved to the minors for a day for cap or roster purposes without ever reporting.
Who is exempt from NHL waivers?
Players early in their careers are exempt from regular waivers, so teams can move them between the NHL and AHL freely. Section 13.4 of the CBA sets the exemption by the player's age when he signs his first NHL contract, with separate limits for skaters and goaltenders. The exemption ends as soon as the player reaches either the number of seasons or the number of NHL games in his row, whichever comes first.
| Age at signing first NHL contract | Skaters: seasons | Skaters: NHL games | Goalies: seasons | Goalies: NHL games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 5 | 160 | 6 | 80 |
| 19 | 4 | 160 | 5 | 80 |
| 20 | 3 | 160 | 4 | 80 |
| 21 | 3 | 80 | 4 | 60 |
| 22 | 3 | 70 | 4 | 60 |
| 23 | 3 | 60 | 3 | 60 |
| 24 | 2 | 60 | 2 | 60 |
| 25 and older | 1 | No games limit | 1 | No games limit |
Source: NHL-NHLPA CBA, Section 13.4. The rules behind the table:
- Games count playoffs. "NHL games" include both regular-season and playoff games.
- A "year" is a season. Each playing season counts as one year of exemption.
- The 11-game rule for teenagers. For a skater who signs at 18 or 19, the five- or four-year exemption is cut to three seasons starting with the first season he plays 11 or more NHL games; the next two seasons count whether he plays in the NHL or not. For goalies who sign at 18 or 19, the same trigger cuts the exemption to four seasons.
- Players 20 and older start the clock in the first season they play one or more professional games, which includes the AHL and other pro leagues.
How is the NHL waiver claim order decided?
When more than one team claims the same player, Section 13.19 of the CBA gives him to the claiming team with the lowest percentage of possible points in the standings at the time the waivers were requested. Before Nov. 1, and for waivers requested outside the regular season, priority instead follows the final standings of the preceding regular season.
That is why the Vancouver Canucks, who finished 32nd in 2025-26 at 25-49-8, held the No. 1 waiver priority through training camp and until Nov. 1, 2026, as The Hockey News noted. Using a claim does not move a team down the list; priority is set by the standings, not by how many claims a team has made.
Ties go to the team with the lower winning percentage (excluding shootout wins), then fewer points in head-to-head games, then lower goal differential per game.
What happens to a team's roster and cap after a waiver claim?
The claiming team takes on the player's existing contract, so his full salary and cap hit move to his new club (Section 13.20). A few strings come with the claim:
- He has not cleared. Because the player was claimed, not cleared, the new team must put him on waivers again before it can send him to the minors.
- Trade restriction. A player acquired on a waiver claim cannot be traded until after that season's playoffs unless he is first offered on the same terms to the other teams that claimed him, and they decline.
- Reclaim exception. If the claiming team waives him later that season and his original team is the only club to claim him back, the original team can send him to the minors within 30 days without new waivers, provided he has not played 10 NHL games and spent more than 30 days on an NHL roster since the claim (Section 13.22).
Do re-entry waivers still exist?
No. Re-entry waivers, a feature of the previous agreement, were eliminated in the CBA that ended the 2012-13 lockout, as The Globe and Mail's James Mirtle reported in January 2013. The current agreement's Section 13.1 recognizes only regular and unconditional waivers.
What is the buried cap hit for a player sent to the AHL?
Under Section 50.5 of the CBA, when a player on a one-way contract is loaned to another professional league, his cap hit still counts against the NHL cap to the extent it exceeds the league minimum salary plus $375,000.
The league minimum rose to $850,000 for 2026-27 under the 2025 CBA extension, per NHL.com, so the buried amount this season is $1.225 million ($850,000 plus $375,000). Pension Plan Puppets noted at the time the deal was announced that the rising minimum also raises the amount a team can bury. In practice:
| One-way cap hit (2026-27) | Amount removed when buried | Amount still counting on NHL cap |
|---|---|---|
| $1.225 million or less | All of it | $0 |
| $2 million | $1.225 million | $775,000 |
| $3 million | $1.225 million | $1.775 million |
| $5 million | $1.225 million | $3.775 million |
Figures are calculated from the CBA formula and the 2026-27 minimum salary. The minimum is scheduled to rise to $900,000 in 2027-28, $950,000 in 2028-29 and $1 million in 2029-30, per NHL.com, which will raise the buried amount by the same steps if the $375,000 add-on stays the same.
Contracts signed at 35 or older follow a stricter rule: from the second year on, the salary keeps counting even when the player is off the NHL roster, less only $100,000 if he is playing in the minors. And under the 2025 extension, the cap is now enforced in the playoffs, with buried contracts among the charges that count toward a team's playoff cap, according to CapWages.
How do waivers work for a buyout?
Before a team can terminate any contract, Section 13.21 requires that the player clear unconditional waivers. For a buyout, the standard player contract says the team must place the player on unconditional waivers before or promptly after giving notice of the buyout, and the termination takes effect once he clears. Under the CBA, the regular buyout window opens on the later of June 15 or 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final and runs to 5 p.m. New York time on June 30, with a second short window for teams involved in salary arbitration.
The St. Louis Blues used this route on June 30, 2026, placing forward Jonathan Drouin on waivers for the purpose of a buyout. Unconditional waivers are also used when a team and player agree to part ways mid-contract; in September 2026 the Anaheim Ducks were reported to be placing Chris Kreider on waivers to terminate his contract, with Kreider becoming an unrestricted free agent if he cleared.
A no-move clause can block an involuntary move by trade, loan or waiver claim, but it cannot stop a buyout. Under Section 11.8, before buying out a player with a no-move clause, the team must offer him the option of being placed on waivers instead, and he has 24 hours to decide.
Do waivers matter at the trade deadline?
Yes, in two ways. First, under Section 13.12, after 3 p.m. New York time on trade deadline day a team generally cannot loan players to the minors for the rest of the regular season, and it is limited to four regular recalls from the minors, plus emergency recalls. Waiver moves meant to send a player down therefore have to be finished before the deadline. Second, a player claimed on waivers cannot be traded until after the playoffs unless first offered to the other claiming teams, so a claim is a longer commitment than it looks.
One more case: under Section 13.23, a professional who plays in a league outside North America after the NHL season starts can join an NHL team that season only through waivers, unless he signs with the club that holds his rights.
Related reference pages
Sources
- Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and NHLPA (Articles 11, 13 and 50; Exhibit 1, standard player contract) — NHL
- What you need to know about the new NHL CBA (July 21, 2025) — NHL.com
- Six NHL CBA changes you need to know ahead of the 2026-27 season (Sept. 4, 2026) — The Hockey News
- Notable change coming to waivers this season (Sept. 21, 2021) — HockeyFeed, citing Chris Johnston
- Sillinger, Wiesblatt among 34 players on waivers (Sept. 23, 2026) — The Hockey Writers
- Three players placed on NHL waivers for Oct. 24 (Oct. 24, 2026) — Daily Faceoff
- NHL Waivers: Husso and Georgiev among five players on the wire on Oct. 7 (Oct. 7, 2025) — The Hockey News
- The Canucks control the waiver wire; recent history shows why it matters (Sept. 14, 2026) — The Hockey News
- Canucks claim D Cameron Crotty off waivers from Wild (Nov. 10, 2026) — TSN
- Lesser-known gains for NHL players in the new CBA (Jan. 8, 2013) — The Globe and Mail
- Weekend FTB: It's going to be a very long weekend (July 12, 2025) — Pension Plan Puppets
- NHL CBA 2026: Salary cap and contract changes explained (Sept. 11, 2025) — CapWages
- Blues place F Jonathan Drouin on waivers for buyout (June 30, 2026) — National Hockey Post / Field Level Media
- Report: Ducks placing veteran F Chris Kreider on waivers (Sept. 9, 2026) — National Hockey Post / Field Level Media