With the NHL regular-season right around the corner, it’s time to prepare for the long lists of players who will be added to the NHL’s waiver wire, possibly including a few members of the Montreal Canadiens.

Unlike previous years, the Habs aren’t desperate to add a little depth to the lineup, which means the odds they’ll land a player like Samuel Montembeault or Johnathan Kovacevic via the waiver wire are rather low. On that note, given that Montembreault is now a starting goalie, and Kovacevic plays an important role for the New Jersey Devils, it’s fair to say you can still find some talent on waivers.

Waivers will kick in on Thursday, September 25, and given the logjam among forwards and defencemen, there’s a decent chance we’ll see a member of the Canadiens placed on the waiver wire.

Waiver-Eligible Montreal Canadiens Players

Josh Anderson, Alex Belzile, Samuel Blais, Alexandre Carrier, Cole Caufield, Nate Clurman, Lucas Condotta, Kirby Dach, Marc Del Gaizo, Noah Dobson, Jake Evans, Sean Farrell, Brendan Gallagher, Kaiden Guhle, Kaapo Kahkonen, Patrik Laine, Mike Matheson, Samuel Montembeault, Alex Newhook, Juraj Slafkovsky, Jayden Struble, Nick Suzuki, William Trudeau, Joe Veleno, Arber Xhekaj.

Non-Waivers Montreal Canadiens Players

Owen Beck, Zachary Bolduc, Jared Davidson, Ivan Demidov, Jakub Dobes, Adam Engstrom, Jacob Fowler, Lane Hutson, Oliver Kapanen, Riley Kidney, Filip Mesar, David Reinbacher, Vinzenz Rohrer, Joshua Roy, Tyler Thorpe, Luke Tuch, Florian Xhekaj.

The risk of losing a player on waivers tends to be exaggerated by most, including myself, but any time a right-handed defenceman hits the waiver wire, you can almost guarantee a team, or six, will be interested. It’s also important to note a few players looking to play the entire season in the NHL are eligible for waivers, including prospects Sean Farrell.

As for those who do not have to go through waivers, it’s impossible to ignore Joshua Roy is among the group, further lowering the odds he makes the NHL roster out of camp.

Waiver Wire Priority List Rules

Prior to November 1, the waiver-wire priority list is determined by the final 2024–25 standings, ordered in reverse. The team that finished in last place, the San Jose Sharks, will have the first opportunity to claim any player placed on waivers.

As for the Canadiens, they will be 17th in the priority list. In other words, the 16 teams that finished below them in the standings will be able to claim a player before the Habs.

On November 1, the list will be dictated by the 2025–26 standings, and thus will change as teams rise or fall throughout the season.

Here’s how the priority is explained in the always-complicated collective bargaining agreement.

“In the event that more than one Club makes a claim for such Player, he shall: (i) be transferred to the claiming Club having earned the lowest percentage of possible points in the League standing at the time of the request for Waivers, or (ii) if Waivers are requested outside the Regular Season, or the successful Waiver claim is made (i.e., the date the Player would be transferred to a successful claiming Club per this Section), before November 1st then the priority shall be determined by the final standing in the League’s Regular Season schedule in the preceding Regular Season.”

Complete NHL Waiver Priority List

The current NHL waiver priority list is as follows.

TeamsWaiver Priority Order

San Jose Sharks1

Chicago Blackhawks2

Nashville Predators3

Philadelphia Flyers4

Boston Bruins5

Seattle Kraken6

Buffalo Sabres7

Pittsburgh Penguins8

Anaheim Ducks9

New York Islanders10

New York Rangers11

Detroit Red Wings12

Columbus Blue Jackets13

Utah HC14

Vancouver Canucks15

New Jersey Devils16

Montreal Canadiens17

St. Louis Blues18

Calgary Flames19

Ottawa Senators20

Minnesota Wild21

Florida Panthers22

Carolina Hurricanes23

Edmonton Oilers24

Tampa Bay Lightning25

Colorado Avalanche26

Los Angeles Kings27

Dallas Stars28

Toronto Maple Leafs29

Vegas Golden Knights30

Washington Capitals31

Winnipeg Jets32

Standings via NHL.com

Montreal Canadiens waiver information via Habs Prospects.