Jack Rathbone is back on the waiver wire, and this time the former Vancouver Canucks defenseman is available to every team in the league.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Buffalo Sabres placed Rathbone on waivers on November 6, 2026. Rathbone has been out all season because of injury, but this move opens the door for him to return to game action.
Cleared
Rathbone (BUF) on waivers https://t.co/U3AjRpJnGZ
- Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 6, 2026
If another club wants to add some blue-line help, Rathbone could be an option worth claiming. If he clears, Buffalo will be able to send him to its AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
Rathbone’s path to this point started with Vancouver, which picked him in the fourth round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, 95th overall. He built plenty of buzz as a prospect after a strong run at Harvard University, where he put up 14 goals and 53 points in 61 games over two seasons. His best college stretch came in 2019-20, when he collected 31 points in 28 games.
He also turned heads in the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks, especially in 2021-22. That season, he scored 10 goals and finished with 40 points in 39 games.
The NHL side of the story never quite matched the minor-league production. Rathbone never established himself as a regular in Vancouver’s lineup, appearing in just 28 NHL games with the Canucks from 2020-21 through 2022-23. He finished that stretch with two goals, five points, and a minus-5 rating.
His time with the Canucks ended in October 2023, when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Since then, he has spent time in both the Penguins and Sabres organizations, but he has not played an NHL game since leaving Vancouver.
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