Canadiens Lose Waiver Priority, New Waiver Order As Of Tommrow

The Montreal Canadiens will lose their waiver priority as of November 1, with the 2022-2023 NHL standings now deciding the new order.

Due to finishing the 2021-2022 season in last place, the Canadiens had the advantage of having the highest priority on the waiver wire over the last six months, but their time at the top is now coming to an end.

Due to their surprising performances to start the season, the Montreal Canadiens find themselves higher in the standings than most predicted, meaning that, as of November 1, they’ll be much lower on the waiver wire totem pole, per the NHL‘s 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.”

With the order changing tomorrow, the Anaheim Ducks, who currently sit last in the NHL standings, would have the first crack at whomever would find themselves on the waiver wire, but only for as long as they sit last in the NHL standings.

The waiver priority is a simple reverse order of the NHL standings, points percentage do not play a role in determining the order, outside of a tie-breaker for teams with the same amount of points.

The priority varies on a daily basis, as the NHL standings fluctuate over time, but, with the performances of Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki as of late, it may be difficult for the Montreal Canadiens to ever come close to having priority again this season. For head coach Martin St. Louis, that’s probably some welcome news.

Here is the expected new waiver priority below: