The Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers and Minnesota Wild claimed players off NHL waivers on Friday.
The Avalanche claimed Ilya Solovyov from the Calgary Flames. Florida brought back former prospect Cole Schwindt from the Vegas Golden Knights. Minnesota claimed Daemon Hunt from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
PuckPedia and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported the news.
Solovyov, a 25-year-old defenseman, recorded one assist in five NHL games last year while adding 28 points in 59 AHL matches. He put up one assist in three games this pre-season. He’s in the second campaign of a two-year, two-way contract worth $775,000.
Schwindt, a 24-year-old center, had a goal and eight points in 42 games for Vegas last season. Florida drafted him 81st overall in 2019 but included him with Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar in the Matthew Tkachuk trade with Calgary. Schwindt scored once in four games this pre-season. He’s on a one-year contract worth $825,000.
Hunt, a 23-year-old defenseman, was a third-round pick by Minnesota in 2020. His 13 NHL games came with the Wild, which traded him to Columbus in November 2024 in a package for prospect defenseman David Jiricek. Hunt had 14 points in 48 games for Columbus’ AHL affiliate and recorded an assist in four games this pre-season. He’s on a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000.
Seven NHL teams also placed a combined 12 players on waivers, according to PuckPedia. Here’s that list.
- Boston: Patrick Brown, Michael Callahan, Georgii Merkulov, Victor Soderstrom, Riley Tufte
- Carolina: Givani Smith
- Tampa Bay: Brandon Halverson
- Toronto: David Kampf, William Villeneuve
- Utah: Matt Villalta
- Vancouver: Nils Aman
- Washington: Sheldon Rempal
Kampf joins the NHL waiver wire in the third season of a four year contract carrying a $2.4-million cap hit. The center hasn’t played in the AHL since 2017-18, logging 536 career regular-season NHL games. But last year, his ice time dropped to 12:24, and he had five goals and 13 points in 59 games.
With the Maple Leafs acquiring centers Nicolas Roy and Scott Laughton earlier in 2025, and with Calle Jarnkrok able to play center as well, the Leafs appear to have squeezed Kampf out of the roster for now. If no team claims him, Kampf can go to the AHL Marlies and allow the Leafs to bury $1.15 million of his cap hit.
Soderstrom, 24, was an 11th overall pick by the Arizona Coyotes in 2019. He played last season in the Swedish League, recording 37 points in 49 games, and the Bruins acquired him this past June. The defenseman has one assist, seven shots and a minus-3 rating in three pre-season contests.
Smith, 27, has played 168 career NHL games, including seven last season. He had three points in 16 AHL games as well. This pre-season, the right winger ranks second in penalty minutes, with 28, and he added three points in four outings.
Aman, 25, had a goal and six points in 19 matches for Vancouver and 30 points in 36 AHL games last year. The center had a goal in three pre-season games.
For each player, the 31 other NHL teams can submit a claim for them by 2 p.m. ET on Saturday. Otherwise, their teams can assign them to the minors. And if any of the squads that did claim a player places them back on waivers, their initial team can still claim them.
For
action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue,
subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by
subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on
THN.com.
