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The NHL waiver draft was an annual draft held by the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1977 to 2003. A reworked version of the NHL intra-league draft, the waiver draft was created to help address the league's competitive balances issues and the financial issues some of the expansion teams added in the preceding ten years were undergoing.[1] It was not held during the 1979–80 and 1991–92 seasons due to the 1979 merger with the World Hockey Association and the 1991 NHL dispersal and expansion drafts, respectively. It was discontinued as a result of the collective bargaining agreement that was reached to end the 2004–05 NHL lockout.[2] Over the course of 25 waiver drafts, 231 selections were made and 240 players total changed teams.
Rules
The waiver draft was held within a week of the start of the regular season. A few days prior to the waiver draft each NHL club would be required to turn in a list of players to protect from selection. First-year players were exempt from selection, but in later editions of the waiver draft this exemption was changed to players under a certain number of professional hockey seasons played and below a minimum number of NHL games played.[1][3]
The order of the waiver draft was the reverse of the previous season's standings, the first round always being limited to non-playoff teams. Once a team claimed an unprotected player from another team, that team would be required to drop a player from their protection list and the other team's choice of compensation would be a cash payment (a sliding scale varying from player to player) or claiming the dropped player.[1][3]
The number of players a team could lose in the waiver draft was set at three (later two), which would increase by the number of claims made against other teams. By default, team's could only lose a maximum of one goaltender, unless they opted to offer more than one.[1][3]
The waiver draft concluded when a round was completed with no selections by any team.[3]
Drafts
1977
The 1977 NHL waiver draft was held on October 10, 1977. Three selections were made.[4][5] Protection lists were released prior to the draft.[4]
| Round | Pick | Player | Claimed by | Claimed from | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Paul Woods | Detroit Red Wings | Montreal Canadiens | cash |
| 2 | Dave Forbes | Washington Capitals | Boston Bruins | cash | |
| 3 | Wayne Thomas | New York Rangers | Toronto Maple Leafs | cash |
1978
The 1978 NHL waiver draft was held on October 9, 1978. Five selections were made and six players total changed teams.[6] Protection lists were released three days prior to the draft.[7]
| Round | Pick | Player | Claimed by | Claimed from | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Pierre Bouchard | Washington Capitals | Montreal Canadiens | cash |
| 2 | Larry Giroux | St. Louis Blues | Detroit Red Wings | cash | |
| 3 | Pierre Plante | New York Rangers | Detroit Red Wings | cash | |
| 4 | Jim Lorentz | Detroit Red Wings | Buffalo Sabres | cash | |
| 2 | 5 | Mike Korney | New York Rangers | Montreal Canadiens | claim: Dan Newman |
1980
The 1980 NHL waiver draft was held on October 8, 1980. Five selections were made.[8] Protection lists were released a day prior to the draft.[9]
| Round | Pick | Player | Claimed by | Claimed from | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Yvon Vautour | Colorado Rockies | New York Islanders | cash |
| 2 | John Wensink | Quebec Nordiques | Boston Bruins | cash | |
| 3 | Rick Smith | Detroit Red Wings | Boston Bruins | cash | |
| 4 | Curt Brackenbury | Edmonton Oilers | Quebec Nordiques | cash | |
| 5 | Colin Campbell | Vancouver Canucks | Edmonton Oilers | cash |
1981
The 1981 NHL waiver draft was held on October 5, 1981. 13 selections were made.[10][11] Protection lists were released two days prior to the draft.[12]
| Round | Pick | Player | Claimed by | Claimed from | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Craig Levie | Winnipeg Jets | Montreal Canadiens | cash |
| 2 | John Wensink | Colorado Rockies | Quebec Nordiques | cash | |
| 3 | Mike McDougal | Hartford Whalers | New York Rangers | cash | |
| 4 | Terry Murray | Washington Capitals | Philadelphia Flyers | cash | |
| 5 | Ron Delorme | Vancouver Canucks | Colorado Rockies | cash | |
| 6 | Yvon Lambert | Buffalo Sabres | Montreal Canadiens | cash | |
| 7 | Al Sims | Los Angeles Kings | Hartford Whalers | cash | |
| 8 | Gary Edwards | St. Louis Blues | Edmonton Oilers | cash | |
| 2 | 9 | Serge Savard | Winnipeg Jets | Montreal Canadiens | cash |
| 10 | Rob McClanahan | Hartford Whalers | Buffalo Sabres | cash | |
| 11 | John Bednarski | Pittsburgh Penguins | Buffalo Sabres | cash | |
| 3 | 12 | Trevor Johansen | Los Angeles Kings | St. Louis Blues | cash |
| 4 | 13 | Jeff Brubaker | Montreal Canadiens | Hartford Whalers | cash |
1982
The 1982 NHL waiver draft was held on October 4, 1982. Seven selections were made and nine players total changed teams.[13][14] Protection lists were released three days prior to the draft.[15]
| Round | Pick | Player | Claimed by | Claimed from | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Murray Brumwell | New Jersey Devils | Minnesota North Stars | cash |
| 2 | Jack Carlson | St. Louis Blues | Minnesota North Stars | cash | |
| 3 | Doug Lecuyer | Pittsburgh Penguins | Winnipeg Jets | cash | |
| 4 | Bill Baker | New York Rangers | St. Louis Blues | claim: Tim Bothwell | |
| 2 | 5 | Carol Vadnais | New Jersey Devils | New York Rangers | claim: Graeme Nicolson |
| 3 | 6 | Dave Hutchison | New Jersey Devils | Washington Capitals | cash |
| 4 | 7 | Bob Hoffmeyer | Edmonton Oilers | Philadelphia Flyers | cash |
1983
The 1983 NHL waiver draft was held on October 3, 1983. Eleven selections were made.[16][17] Protection lists were released two days prior to the draft.[18][19]
| Round | Pick | Player | Claimed by | Claimed from | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Grant Mulvey | Pittsburgh Penguins | Chicago Black Hawks | cash |
| 2 | Mike Crombeen | Hartford Whalers | St. Louis Blues | cash | |
| 3 | Don Nachbaur | Los Angeles Kings | Edmonton Oilers | cash | |
| 4 | Terry Johnson | St. Louis Blues | Quebec Nordiques | cash | |
| 5 | Mark Renaud | Buffalo Sabres | Hartford Whalers | cash | |
| 6 | Jean Hamel | Montreal Canadiens | Quebec Nordiques | cash | |
| 2 | 7 | Mike Zuke | Hartford Whalers | St. Louis Blues | cash |
| 8 | Dwight Schofield | St. Louis Blues | Montreal Canadiens | cash | |
| 9 | Jeff Brubaker | Calgary Flames | Montreal Canadiens | cash | |
| 10 | John Van Boxmeer | Quebec Nordiques | Buffalo Sabres | cash | |
| 3 | 11 | Bob Crawford | Hartford Whalers | St. Louis Blues | cash |
1984
The 1984 NHL waiver draft was held on October 9, 1984. Nine selections were made and ten players total changed teams.[20][21] Protection lists were released four days prior to the draft.[22]