Trio of former Vancouver Canucks placed on waivers on Friday

The National Hockey League's waiver wire was quite busy on Friday afternoon with a total of 25 players placed by their respective teams in order to assign them to the American Hockey League.

Among the 25 placed on the wire on Friday is Sam Poulin, a first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins back in 2019. Poulin was selected by the Penguins' front office that was led by Jim Rutherford as General Manager and Patrik Allvin, who was the Director of Amateur Scouting and played a big role in the pick.

Also on waivers this afternoon is a trio of former Vancouver Canucks - Ethan Bear (Washington Capitals), Michael DiPietro (Boston Bruins) and Will Lockwood (Florida Panthers).

Bear, 27, was not qualified by the Vancouver Canucks following the 2022-23 season, making him an unrestricted free agent. He didn't sign with Washington until December 2023 as he was recovering from shoulder surgery, but went on to appear in 24 games for them last season where he registered four points (one goal, three assists), ten penalty minutes and was a minus-five.

DiPietro, a native of Windsor, Ontario, had a strong year for the AHL's Providence Bruins in 2023-24. In 30 games, he had a record of 18-9-2 with a 2.51 goals against average, a .918 save percentage and four shutouts.

Lockwood, 26, split his time last season between the Florida Panthers and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. In 26 games for the Panthers, Lockwood had one assist, 16 penalty minutes and was a minus-two. Meanwhile, in 32 AHL games, the Royal Oak, Michigan native put up 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists), ten penalty minutes and was a plus-11.

With the NHL's roster submission deadline on Monday at 5 pm ET (2 pm PT), it's likely going to be a very busy weekend on the wire and we'll have to wait and see if Patrik Allvin decides to place anyone on waivers to assign them to Abbotsford. The San Jose Sharks have the first crack at placing a waiver claim between now and November 1st because they finished dead-last in the NHL last season.