Unfortunate developments emerge on NHL waivers Tuesday

When the Calgary Flames placed Connor Zary on waivers Monday alongside two other NHL players, the expectation around the league was that at least one would be claimed.

That did not happen.

In a surprising development on Tuesday, all three players placed on waivers cleared without being claimed. Zary, Matthew Robertson of the New York Rangers, and Calgary's Brayden Pachal all passed through unclaimed, meaning they can now be assigned to their respective AHL affiliates.

In separate transactions, the Tampa Bay Lightning placed forward Jansen Harkins on waivers, while the Columbus Blue Jackets put winger Mikael Pyyhtia on waivers.

The fact that Zary went unclaimed is arguably the biggest shock. The 25-year-old forward was a first-round pick by the Flames, taken 24th overall at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. He has played 193 career NHL games, all with Calgary, scoring 39 goals and 48 assists for 87 points across parts of three seasons on the big club's roster.

For a player of that pedigree and production to go completely unclaimed raises questions about how teams around the league view his trajectory. It also means the Flames retain full control of his rights moving forward, which may have been the outcome Calgary was banking on all along. However, rival teams seem reluctant to commit to his contract, which runs through the end of the 2027-28 season and carries a cap hit of $3.775 million. He will become an RFA on July 1st, 2028.

That is so unfortunate for the former first-round pick, who was full of promise. The same can be said of both players on the wire today, especially Pyyhtia, who kicked off the season on the Jackets' injured reserve.

The waiver wire is always a calculated gamble for NHL front offices. Placing a former first-round pick like Zary on waivers carried real risk, but the Flames appear to have navigated it without losing an asset.

We will have to wait and see what comes next for these three players. Whether they remain in the AHL for extended stretches or earn callbacks later in the season will depend on how training camp shakes out and how their respective teams manage their rosters heading into the regular season.