The NHL’s waiver wire got busy on Sep. 26, and three familiar names from Chicago surfaced among the latest players available.
Lukas Reichel, Caleb Jones and Alex Nylander were all placed on waivers by their current teams, continuing a stretch that keeps linking the former Blackhawks to new stops around the league.
Reichel is the one whose path has been the most winding. The Boston Bruins placed the 24-year-old on waivers after acquiring him last season from the Vancouver Canucks, following the earlier trade that sent him out of Chicago and to Vancouver during that same campaign. He played 29 games this past season across the Blackhawks, Canucks and Bruins, finishing with three goals, eight points and a minus-2 rating.
Chicago originally took Reichel in the first round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, selecting him 17th overall. Across 174 games with the Blackhawks over five seasons from 2021-22 to 2025-26, he produced 22 goals, 58 points and a minus-60 rating.
Jones landed on waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins. The former Blackhawks defenseman was limited to seven games last season in Pittsburgh, where he had one assist and a plus-1 rating. He also appeared once for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL and did not register a point there.
Nylander’s waiver placement came from the Calgary Flames. The 28-year-old spent all of last season with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL, scoring 24 goals and totaling 53 points in 64 games.
Nylander’s lone season in Chicago came in 2019-20, when he posted 10 goals and 26 points in 65 games.
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