Former Vancouver Canucks Forward Placed on Waivers by New Jersey Devils - Time For A Reunion?

It's been quite a busy period on the National Hockey League's waiver wire, especially the last week, as teams are making some tough decisions ahead of the Roster Freeze, which is in effect as of 12:01 am on Friday, December 20th.

Since the start of the 2024-25 season, the Vancouver Canucks have only used waivers once and that was on November 2nd, with Swedish forward Nils Aman landing on the wire in order to be assigned to the American Hockey League.

While the Vancouver Canucks haven't been very active on the waiver wire this season, several of their former players have been placed by their respective teams including on Tuesday.

In a social media post today, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman shared that former Vancouver Canucks forward Justin Dowling has been placed on waivers by the New Jersey Devils.

Colorado Avalanche forward Chris Wagner has also been placed on waivers, while Devin Shore of the Minnesota Wild has cleared and is expected to be assigned to AHL Iowa shortly.

Dowling, a native of Calgary, Alberta, has appeared in 21 games for the Devils this season where he's registered three points (two goals, one assist), two penalty minutes and is a minus-two.

The 34-year-old centerman spent two seasons in the Vancouver Canucks organization in 2021-22 and 2022-23 after signing with them as an unrestricted free agent.

In 22 games with Vancouver during the 2021-22 season, Dowling had four points (two goals, two assists), two penalty minutes and was a minus-three.

We'll have to wait and see tomorrow morning at 11 am PT if any of the 31 other NHL clubs, including Vancouver, place a waiver claim on Justin Dowling, but it's more likely than not that he'll end up clearing and will head to the AHL.