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Canucks claim goaltender Leevi Meriläinen off NHL waivers

Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

By David Quadrelli

Sep 25, 2026, 14:18 EDT

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The Vancouver Canucks have made their first waiver claim of the season.

On Friday, GM Ryan Johnson announced that the club has claimed goaltender Leevi Meriläinen off waivers from the Ottawa Senators.

Meriläinen, 24, was a third-round pick of the Senators in the 2020 NHL Draft and split his time between the AHL and NHL last season.

Tyson Cole identified Meriläinen as one of the potential targets for the Canucks to put a claim in for in his look at yesterday’s waiver targets. Here’s some of what he wrote:

“…the best of the bunch is Ottawa Senators goaltender Leevi Merilainen. Merilainen, 24, has played NHL games in three of the last four seasons. While he struggled in his 20 games last season with a 3.51 goals-against average and an .860 save percentage, he’s just two years removed from a 12-game stint in which he had a 1.99 goals against average, a .925 save percentage, and an 8-3-1 record, with three shutouts.”

Nikita Tolopilo didn’t exactly stand out in the Canucks’ Thursday night loss at home to an inexperienced Edmonton Oilers lineup, allowing two goals on 14 shots. The Canucks could elect to keep three goaltenders on their roster (with Thatcher Demko presumably on IR to open the season), but they’ll likely send Tolopilo down to AHL Abbotsford. He would, of course, have to clear waivers first.

Meriläinen is no doubt a project goaltender who the Canucks are hoping they can get the most out of with the right environment and a change of scenery. At 6’3, he’s got decent size for an NHL goaltender and the flashes he’s shown at both the NHL and AHL levels make him a smart bet for the Canucks, who still hold their number one spot in the waiver priority order thanks to their 32nd-place finish in 2025-26.

Finally, a fun fact courtesy of our guy Jeff Paterson: Meriläinen picked up the first win of his NHL career in December 2024 at Rogers Arena, when the Senators beat the Canucks 5-4 in overtime on December 21st.

We’ll have a full breakdown of Meriläinen’s game up on the site tomorrow.