After finishing the 2025-26 season with the worst record in the National Hockey League, the Vancouver Canucks have the upper hand on the rest of the league on the waiver wire.

Because of last year’s last-place finish in the NHL standings, the Canucks have first priority on the waiver wire to begin this season. That means they can claim whichever player they want that hits the NHL waiver wire.

Here is who the Canucks passed over on yesterday’s waiver wire:

Dallas Stars: Brandon Halverson (G)
Detroit Red Wings: Jacob Bryson (D), Cameron Butler (F), Sheldon Dries (F), William Lagesson (D), John Leonard (F), and Dominik Shine (F)
Nashville Predators: Jake Lucchini (F)
New York Islanders: Ethan Bear (D) and Henrik Tikkanen (G)
New York Rangers: Dennis Cholowski (D), Justin Dowling (F), Juuso Parssinnen (F), and Urho Vaakanainen (D)
Washington Capitals: Ludwig Persson (F)

Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, all 15 players cleared waivers.

And here are all the players to hit today’s round of waivers:

Boston Bruins: Maxence Guenette (D)
Columbus Blue Jackets: Phoenix Copley (G), James Malatesta (F), and Owen Sillinger (F)
Colorado Avalanche: Domenick Fensore (D) and Christian Wolanin (D)
Detroit Red Wings: Ronald Attard (D) and Wilmer Skoog (F)
Nashville Predators: Ozzy Wiesblatt (F)
New York Rangers: Spencer Martin (G)
Philadelphia Flyers: Zach Aston-Reese (F), Cam Dineen (D), Nolan Foote (F), Carl Grundstrom (F), Danila Klimovich (F), and Jack Studnicka (F)
Pittsburgh Penguins: Taylor Gauthier (G)
San Jose Sharks: Ethan Cardwell (F), Tye Felhaber (F), and Libor Hajek (D)
Tampa Bay Lightning: Jonas Johansson (G)
Toronto Maple Leafs: Cole McWard (D), Dakota Mermis (D)
Utah Mammoth: Cameron Hebig (F), Montana Onyebuchi (D), and Jaxson Stauber (G)
Vancouver Canucks: Cole Clayton (D), Trey Fix-Wolansky (F), and Jimmy Schuldt (D)
Vegas Golden Knights: Jeremy Davis (D), Jakub Demek (F), Joe Fleming (F), Adam Ginning (D), and Jaycob Megna (D)

While three current Canucks made the list, there are oddly a lot of former Canucks who find themselves on waivers today as well: Wolanin, Martin, Klimovich, Studnicka, and McWard.

From a Canucks perspective, there don’t appear to be many young, intriguing options for them to claim. Of the 34 players that find themselves on waivers today, there are just 11 who are 25 years old or under: Guenette (25), Malatesta (23), Fensore (25), Wiesblatt (24), Foote (25), Klimovich (23), Gauthier (25), Cardwell (24), McWard (25), Demek (23), Fleming (23).

To narrow that group further, Klimovich and McWard didn’t work out in the organization on their first go-around, so it’s hard to imagine a reconciliation between the two sides. That leaves Guenette, Malatesta, Fensore, Wiesblatt, Foote, Gauthier, Cardwell, Demek, and Fleming.

Guenette is a 6’2″ right-shot defenceman who has spent the previous five seasons playing in the American League. Malatesta is an undersized winger who has struggled to produce at the AHL level over the last two seasons, scoring just 22 points in 98 games. Fensore is a 5’9″ left-shot defenceman who produced well in the American League last year with 10 goals and 35 points in 65 games. But that’s likely to be his ceiling.

Son of ex-Canucks coach Adam Foote, Nolan has bounced between the NHL and the AHL for the last six seasons. He has been a consistent 0.65-point-per-game scorer at the American League level, but has never been able to put it together at the National level. Gauthier has mostly been playing in the ECHL. Demek has NHL size at 6’4″, 203 lbs, but injuries restricted him to just four AHL games last season. Fleming is an AHL/ECHL tough-guy tweener, listed as both a winger and defenceman on EliteProspects.

Wiesblatt is probably the most interesting name on this list as a former first-round pick. He played 40 NHL games last season, but that only amounted to one goal and five points. And if Wiesblatt doesn’t do it for you, Cardwell might. He’s another player coming off an injury-riddled 2025-26 that limited him to just 24 AHL games, where he scored seven goals and 15 points. However, his production profile goes back further than that, and he has earned NHL games in two straight seasons.

All of this to say, none of the September 23 NHL waiver options seem likely to intrigue the Canucks enough to exercise their top-priority claim today. Check back tomorrow with another NHL waivers check-in!