The Florida Panthers have claimed Noah Juulsen off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, adding the young defenseman just before the season begins.
Juulsen, 23, is the second young defenseman the Panthers have claimed off waivers in recent days, following the acquisition of Gustav Forsling over the weekend. Adding those two to a group that already had a lot of offseason turnover is interesting, especially when paired with Keith Yandle’s recent demotion. Yandle has practiced away from the main roster group for the past two days, spending time with the likely scratches and minor leaguers instead as other players are given a chance to compete.
It’s not clear at all now how things will shake out in Florida, but Juulsen is likely just pleased he’ll get a fresh start somewhere else. The 2015 first-round pick has had nothing but trouble with the Montreal Canadiens, suffering injury after injury at both the NHL and AHL levels. In fact, since arriving in the professional ranks in 2017 he has suited up for just 93 games combined, including just 37 over the past two seasons.
Healthy now and ready to contribute, it will be interesting to see how he will be deployed in Florida. To be placed on their taxi squad he would have to be placed on waivers again, at which point Montreal would have a chance to bring him back. That means a roster spot seems likely, but with such little game experience, it’s hard to imagine him stepping right into the opening night lineup.
Cost of getting better I suppose. Lose some quality players via waivers. Hope he can get healthy.