The Sharks have claimed defenseman Vincent Iorio off waivers from the Capitals, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. They cleared a roster spot just minutes ago by placing Timothy Liljegren on injured reserve.
Drafted 55th overall by the Capitals in 2021, Iorio’s tenure in Washington comes to an early end. Waiver-eligible for the first time this season, Iorio made the Caps’ opening night roster but didn’t get into a game before landing on the wire yesterday to make way for veteran Dylan McIlrath to come off injured reserve. He has just nine NHL games to his name, none of which came last season. The 6’4″ righty had one assist with a +1 rating while averaging 11:20 per game across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
The Caps were in a tough spot with Iorio, who they didn’t feel was ready for full-time NHL minutes on one of the league’s deepest blue lines. Keeping him in the press box over McIlrath would have stunted the 22-year-old’s development. Trading him for an asset wasn’t very feasible, either, as teams knew he would be available for free on the waiver wire anyway. Interest evidently wasn’t strong enough for other parties to try to jump the line ahead of the Sharks, who still have top priority after finishing with the league’s worst record last year.
San Jose hopes to benefit from Washington’s lose-lose situation. The British Columbia native hasn’t shown a ton of forward progress in the minors since turning pro three years ago, but he displayed expert transition skills in junior hockey and boasts a good two-way profile from his experience in the Caps’ system with AHL Hershey. He’s made 190 minor-league appearances, posting an 11-45–56 scoring line for an average of 0.29 points per game. He carries a career +39 rating to boot, although that’s somewhat inflated by him logging significant minutes on one of the AHL’s best teams of that period.
Iorio’s claim doesn’t bode well for top prospect Sam Dickinson to stick on San Jose’s roster for the rest of the season. Liljegren’s absence isn’t expected to be long-term, and the Sharks don’t have any other waiver-exempt defenders on their roster aside from Dickinson. The 2024 No. 11 overall pick was a scratch for the season opener and has averaged under 12 minutes per game through two appearances with the Sharks, posting a -2 rating with no shot attempts and one block. Returning him to OHL London before he reaches the 10-game mark will slide the beginning of his entry-level contract to 2026-27 and remove him from their 50-contract limit for the remainder of the season.
If San Jose opts to keep Dickinson when Liljegren returns and waives Iorio again instead, the Capitals have the option to reclaim him. If they’re the only team to submit a claim, they can send him directly to AHL Hershey and bypass waiving him a second time.