The San Jose Sharks have placed forward Brett Leason on waivers, a move that points to an imminent roster opening for Adam Gaudette as he works his way back from an upper-body injury.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported the transaction on October 8. Leason, 27, made San Jose’s opening-night roster after signing a one-year, two-way deal this summer, but he has not dressed for any of the club’s first three games.
The contract pays $850,000 at the NHL level and half that in the minors. If he clears, he is expected to begin the 2026-27 season with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda within a few days.
Leason arrived in San Jose after a one-year stay with the Washington Capitals, his second tour with that organization. Before that return to Washington, he had spent two productive seasons with the Anaheim Ducks.
Across 2023-24 and 2024-25, he became a useful depth forward, scoring 16 goals and 39 points in 130 games while averaging about 13 minutes a night and finishing minus-9.
Playing time did not follow him to the Capitals at the same level. He spent most of 2025-26 with the Hershey Bears, his first assignment there since 2021-22, and the year went well: 14 goals and 44 points in 56 games, a plus-7 rating, and fourth on the team in scoring.
The waiver placement lines up with Gaudette’s recovery.
The eight-year veteran opened the season on injured reserve after an upper-body injury suffered in training camp, and the timeline has stretched longer than the Sharks first expected.
He is now nearing a return and should resume a middle-six role.
Last season with San Jose, he scored 17 goals and 25 points in 66 games, production the club will want back in the lineup as the early schedule unfolds.
For Leason, the move is less a verdict on his summer signing than a reflection of the roster math. He earned a spot on the opening roster but never got into a game, and Gaudette’s return leaves little room for an extra forward who has yet to play.
Clearing waivers would send a player who just put up a strong AHL season back to the Barracuda, where he can stay ready if San Jose needs another body.
If another team claims him, the Sharks lose the depth they added in the offseason without having used it.
Either outcome clears a path for Gaudette, whose longer-than-expected recovery is the practical reason the transaction happened when it did.
