On October 10th, three NHL players were granted waivers – including someone who has become a fairly familiar face.

Goaltenders Kaapo Kahkonen (Winnipeg Jets), Raphaël Lavoie (Edmonton Oilers) and Spencer Smallman (Washington Capitals) are available for release after being claimed off waivers by their respective teams on Thursday afternoon.

Kahkonen signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Jets last summer after moving between San Jose and New Jersey last year. He struggled for most of the season after emerging as one of the better young goaltenders early in his tenure with the Minnesota Wild.

Kahkonen was brought in to give the Jets additional goaltending depth behind Connor Hellebuyck, and Eric Comrie also returned to the roster. Comrie will make $825,000 on his deal. So sending Kahkonen down and keeping Comrie can save the team some money. A demotion could see Kahkonen return to the AHL for the first time since he posted a 25-6-5 record with seven shutouts and a .927 save percentage with Iowa in 2019-20. He won the Baz Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s top goaltender that year before becoming a full-time NHLer in 2020-21.

Lavoie, meanwhile, is receiving exemptions for the third time this month. He was originally scheduled to start the year with the Oilers but was claimed off waivers by Vegas. The Oilers brought him back on Wednesday afternoon. Lavoie scored a career-high 28 goals and 22 assists for 50 points in 66 games with the Condors, ranking third in team points. Lavoie appeared in seven NHL games for Edmonton throughout the regular season, but went pointless.

If the Golden Knights claimed him and were the only team to claim him, he would be eligible to go directly to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights.

Smallman, on the other hand, has yet to play an NHL game at the age of 28. He signed with the Caps over the summer to add some depth to the Hershey Bears. The winger scored 12 and 21 goals while providing some physicality for the Colorado Eagles.