The Winnipeg Jets have added another goaltender to the mix, claiming Clay Stevenson off waivers from the Washington Capitals, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Monday afternoon.
Stevenson, 27, spent the 2025-26 regular season split between Washington and the AHL’s Hershey Bears. In four NHL appearances with the Capitals, the 6-foot-4 netminder went 3-1-0 with a .921 save percentage. In 37 games with Hershey, he put up an 18-13-3 record and a .912 save percentage.
The move puts Stevenson in line to begin the 2026-27 season on Winnipeg’s NHL roster. With Connor Hellebuyck still serving a team-imposed suspension and Domenic DiVincentiis exempt from waivers, the Jets appear set to open camp with Stuart Skinner and Stevenson as their goaltending pair.
Stevenson has one year left on his current deal, which carries an $850,000 NHL cap hit. He’ll be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2026-27 season.
An undrafted player from Drayton Valley, Alta., Stevenson took the long road to this point. He played junior hockey with the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express, then spent the 2021-22 season at Dartmouth College. After one year in the NCAA, he turned pro in the Capitals organization and spent most of the 2022-23 season with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays before carving out a role as Hunter Shepard’s partner in Hershey during the Bears’ 2023-24 Calder Cup run.
Stevenson made his NHL debut with Washington late in the 2024-25 season, stopping 33 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Apr. 17, 2025.
Across 109 career AHL games with Hershey over parts of four seasons, Stevenson has a 63-31-18 record, nine shutouts and a .909 save percentage. In nine playoff appearances for the Bears, he’s gone 4-4 with a .913 save percentage.
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Jets Just Addressed A Growing Goalie Problem Behind Hellebuyck
The Capitals expected Clay Stevenson to move on, and it happened quickly when Winnipeg claimed the 27-year-old goalie off waivers to shore up its depth. Stevenson had spent time in Washingtons organization, but the Jets were in a bind with Connor Hellebuyck away from camp, so they moved to secure another experienced option and keep their goaltending pipeline from getting jammed up at the NHL level.
For Washington, the loss is manageable because the club has other netminders in its AHL system who can absorb the workload in Hershey. The bigger ripple effect may be felt on the farm, where the crease picture now shifts again and one veteran option is suddenly in position to take on a much larger role if the organization chooses to give him a full contract. [Read more 🡒]