NAK went unclaimed b/c he makes $1M plus.
MacEwen (3 years), Brown (2 years) probably went unclaimed b/c teams didn't want to be stuck with them at NHL salaries.
Odds are Caps will recall NAK once they clear some cap room, but it still tells you they view him as marginal, we're only talking a few hundred K to keep him in the NHL.
MacEwen and Brown are 13th forwards, stashed in the AHL for cap room (a lot of teams are going with less than the permitted 23 players to save cap room and money), available in case of injury.
Allison however, was on a one year deal at minimum salary, other players were claimed, so the league simply didn't view him as worth the roster spot.
Petersen also can't play, he just does it on the ice instead of the press box.
I expect them to buy him out next summer, two years at $1.67M instead of one year at $5M.
If they can't find a taker for Atkinson, they may buy him out as well.
Given they'll have a lot of cap room in 2025-26, pushing $3.5M into that year to save about $7M next year makes sense.