The NHL waivers process caught Eeli Tolvanen after seven consecutive games as a healthy scratch in Nashville. His season had stalled at two goals in 13 appearances. A former first-round pick could not get into the lineup, much less establish himself in it. When Nashville put him on waivers in December 2022, the disappointment hit hard. Tolvanen later described those first hours to Seattle Sports as “miserable.” Then he began hoping another team would claim him.
Seattle did. On December 12, the Kraken acquired his contract, which carried a $1.45 million annual cap hit through the following season. Nashville received no draft pick or replacement prospect. Seattle received no guarantee that the winger would score.
The transaction took a day to resolve. Its consequences would last much longer. Nashville had risked a player it still hoped to keep, while Seattle committed money and roster space to someone who had stopped playing. Both clubs needed their judgment to survive contact with the ice.
Nashville Tried to Keep the Player
The Predators wanted Tolvanen playing in Milwaukee, their AHL affiliate. Getting him there required exposing his contract to the rest of the NHL. They could control the decision to request waivers, but they could not control who answered.
After Tolvanen began producing in Seattle, Nashville general manager David Poile acknowledged the risk plainly during an interview with 102.5 The Game. “This could be a mistake on our part,” he said. Poile explained that Nashville had hoped Tolvanen would clear, play in Milwaukee and eventually return.
That admission captures the tension inside the NHL waivers process. A team can want a player in its organization without wanting him in tonight’s lineup. Once his exemption expires, however, sending him down generally requires giving competitors a chance to take him.
Clearing waivers does not make a player a free agent. His club retains the contract and can proceed with the assignment. Management can also leave him on the NHL roster. Unconditional waivers cover a separate route, including proposed contract termination or a buyout, with additional rules governing those outcomes.
Salary Labels Offer No Protection
A two-way contract would not, by itself, have protected Nashville from losing Tolvanen. That label specifies different compensation at the NHL and minor-league levels. A one-way contract generally pays the same salary in either setting.
Waiver eligibility follows a different calculation. Article 13 of the NHL collective bargaining agreement bases exemptions on age at the first NHL contract, position and applicable season and games-played limits. Goalies and skaters face different thresholds.
Those distinctions can decide a training-camp competition before the final exhibition game. Management might value two forwards similarly but have a safe assignment route for only one. The NHL waivers process adds the risk of losing a player to an evaluation that already includes his skating, scoring and defensive work.
Seattle Waited Behind Twenty-Two Teams
Once Tolvanen became available, interested clubs ordinarily had 24 hours to submit a claim. Seattle could act quickly, but speed would not move it ahead of another bidder. Under Article 13.19, competing claims ordinarily favor the team with the lowest points percentage. Before November 1, the previous regular season’s final standings determine priority. By December, current-season results governed Seattle’s place in line.
The Kraken’s early success worked against them. FOX 13 Seattle reported that 22 teams held higher waiver priority when Tolvanen became available. Every one of those clubs had an opportunity to claim him before Seattle could win the transaction.
This is where the NHL waivers process differs sharply from a trade negotiation. Ron Francis did not need to persuade Poile to accept a return. Seattle’s general manager needed the contract to reach his club, then had to accommodate it. Tolvanen’s salary helped make that possible. His deal also extended through 2023–24, giving the Kraken another season beyond the immediate audition. The opportunity came with a continuing obligation.
A claim does not reopen salary negotiations. The acquiring club assumes the existing contract and its applicable cap charge. The CBA also specifies waiver fees, making “free” convenient shorthand rather than an accurate accounting term.
Hakstol Found More Than a Shooter
Seattle did not immediately put its new acquisition into a game. Tolvanen arrived in mid-December and made his debut on January 1. He later credited that preparation time with helping him regain game shape and become comfortable with the organization.
Once he entered the lineup, he joined Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand at five-on-five. Seattle also gave him a right-side power-play role. The assignments offered two ways to contribute without asking his shot to explain his entire game.
“He does way more than score,” coach Dave Hakstol said in comments reported by FOX 13 Seattle. Hakstol pointed to Tolvanen’s positioning, stick work and willingness to get into shooting lanes. Those habits gave the staff reasons to keep playing him between goals.
That matters when evaluating the NHL waivers process. A club can acquire a dangerous release and still lack a suitable job for its owner. If the available minutes require checking and defensive-zone work, the player must contribute there too.
The Right Circle Made the Case
In his debut against the Islanders, Tolvanen scored a power-play one-timer from the right circle at 3:58 of the second period. The mechanics explain the value of that assignment. A left-handed shooter stationed on the right flank can present his blade toward the middle and strike an incoming pass without settling it first.
That removes a handling touch, giving the goalie and penalty killers less time to adjust. Seattle had placed Tolvanen where his release could become an immediate threat. The goal did not prove that Nashville’s entire system had failed him. It showed something narrower and more useful: Seattle had an available power-play job that matched a specific strength.
At five-on-five, the test demanded more than waiting for a pass. Alongside Gourde and Bjorkstrand, Tolvanen needed to help recover possession and sustain shifts. His defensive work gave that arrangement substance beyond the appeal of three names on a lineup sheet.
Another Assignment Would Reopen the Risk
Seattle could not claim Tolvanen and quietly store him in the AHL. He had changed teams through waivers; he had not cleared them. Another ordinary minor-league assignment generally would have required exposing him again.
For players who do clear, the NHL waivers process creates a limited window of flexibility. Under the ordinary rule, renewed waivers become necessary after 10 cumulative NHL games or more than 30 cumulative NHL roster days. A brief trip to the minors does not reset those totals.
The two counters matter differently. Appearances measure playing time, while roster days also capture the weeks spent waiting. A healthy scratch can therefore exhaust the window without taking a shift.
An original club has a narrow advantage if it reclaims a player it lost earlier that season. When no other team submits a claim, it can assign him directly to the minors within the applicable limits. It does not receive automatic first refusal.
Ordinary recalls work differently. The 2013 labor agreement eliminated the old re-entry waiver system, which exposed certain recalled players to claims and divided salary obligations between clubs. Today’s practical question usually concerns the next trip down: can management make it without risking the player again?
The Paperwork Ended at the Right Circle
Tolvanen finished his first Seattle regular-season stretch with 16 goals in 48 games, according to NHL reporting. The claim had delivered production without costing the Kraken a prospect or draft choice.
That return will keep other front offices looking. But the NHL waivers process offers access, not instructions. A team still needs to absorb the contract, identify the right assignment and give the player enough preparation to perform it.
The next appealing name on the wire should prompt a lineup conversation before it prompts a claim. Which center suits this winger? Where does he fit on special teams? Who loses minutes, and what happens when an injured regular returns? Those questions carry consequences for everyone in the room. One player gets another chance; another may find his own place less secure. A successful acquisition has to justify both decisions.
Tolvanen’s first Seattle goal supplied a more immediate answer. After weeks without a game, he had a shooting lane, a power-play assignment and a puck arriving where he could use it. The celebration did not proceed quite as smoothly.
“I was too excited for the first goal. Lost an edge,” he recalled in reporting by Charles Hamaker for Converge Media. For weeks, he had struggled to get into a lineup. Now he was struggling to stay on his skates because he had scored.
READ MORE: NHL Salary Retention: Why Teams Keep Paying Former Stars After Trades
FAQ’s
How does the NHL waivers process work?
Teams generally expose nonexempt players to claims before sending them to the minors. Other clubs ordinarily have 24 hours to claim their existing contracts.
Which NHL team gets priority on waivers?
The claiming team with the lowest points percentage ordinarily gets priority. Before November 1, the league uses the previous regular season’s final standings.
Does claiming an NHL player on waivers cost a draft pick?
No. The claiming team gives up no draft pick or prospect, but takes on the existing contract, applicable cap charge and waiver fee.
Does a two-way contract make a player waiver-exempt?
No. Two-way contracts determine pay at different league levels. Waiver exemptions depend on age at signing, position and applicable season and games-played limits.
Does clearing NHL waivers make a player a free agent?
No. His team keeps his contract and can assign him to the minors or leave him on its NHL roster.
