Waivers have ruined more good theories about roster construction than even good sense. If you’re going to win your fight about who the Leafs should house in the press box or use on the fourth line, you need to know who is exempt and who isn’t.
What are waivers for, anyway?
The reason waivers exist at all is to keep teams from stockpiling NHL-capable players so they can keep other teams weak and have NHL-ready callups whenever they need them. The league wants NHL-ready players in the NHL. And while you can argue all day long about some young prospect with no NHL experience, the main focus of waiver rules is players who aren’t all that young anymore and have already played in the NHL.