The NHL has made a change to its waivers process starting this season

In an unexpected turn of events, it appears as though the NHL is making an alteration to its waiver process, NHL Insider Chris Johnston announced on Tuesday.

Previously, the NHL would announce waiver details at 12:00 p.m. ET, but with the change, they would have waiver information processed and announced at 2:00 p.m. ET instead.

The primary reason for the change appears to be that it will allow some additional time for teams in the Western Conference to make their waiver decisions. It has virtually no effect on the East whatsoever, other than the fact that previous to this change, they appear to have had a bit more time to evaluate during the business day.

This is a nice balance change, and certainly a happy medium that will allow Western Conference teams to be more engaged with additions through waivers this season and moving forward.