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Trade Rumors: Penguins, Mete, Bjork

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Amidst the shocking news that Jim Rutherford had resigned as GM of Pittsburgh Penguins, it is easy to forget that this was a team that less than a week ago was reported as being active on the trade market. While ownership suddenly needs to focus on the long-term welfare of the franchise by finding a new GM, the Penguins are still in need of defense in the short-term. While Rutherford’s final move was to find a stopgap in free agent addition Yannick Weber, that might not be enough. The Pittsburgh blue line has been devastated by injuries early this season with Michael Matheson, Juuso Riikola, and Zach Trotman on injured reserve, Marcus Pettersson also officially out, and Brian Dumoulin injured in last night’s game. Even the thought-to-be-healthy John Marino was missing at practice today. What’s left is a group that is almost entirely right-handed, including the newcomer Weber, and includes a struggling Cody Ceci and an untested rookie in Pierre-Olivier Joseph. The Penguins need to to continue to be on the look out for help on the back end. With that said, NBC Sports’ Adam Gretz doubts that interim GM Patrick Allvin will have the authority to make a trade, until they potentially remove the interim tag that is. In the meantime, can the Penguins afford to stand pat in a shortened season facing tougher playoff odds and a more difficult division? Can they withstand extended absences from their current injured defenders? Unless owner Mario Lemieux decides to step in and pull the strings while also making a decision on his next GM, they may not have an option but to stick it out.

  • Through their first six games of the season, the Montreal Canadiens have yet to lose in regulation and have earned 10 of a possible 12 points. Everyone in Montreal is happy so far this year, that is except defenseman Victor Mete. With the team rolling on all cylinders, the Habs have had no reason to change out their starting six defenseman. In fact, there has been only one lineup change among skaters for one single game thus far. The Canadiens do not want to lose the promising, young Mete on waivers, but so far that has left 22-year-old sitting in the press box for every game. If Montreal continues to win and stay healthy, then there is also no reason for that to change. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has taken notice and he’s not alone. Friedman reports that there is interest in Mete across the league and offers will be coming to Montreal soon, if they haven’t already. After losing Noah Juulsen on waivers earlier this year, the Habs may be hesitant to part with another young defenseman whose career has been impacted by injuries but could be primed for a breakout. However, if Mete won’t get any opportunity to shine in Montreal, they may as well move him. After all, he will likely be available for free to the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft anyway.
  • If there is one thing that has quietly defined the Don Sweeney administration in Boston, it is that they are not afraid to move young forwards who are unable to carve out a consistent role in the lineup. In consecutive years, the Bruins have traded away Frank Vatrano, Ryan Donato, and Danton Heinen, each of whom was struggling and bouncing around the lineup prior to being moved. Now, Anders Bjork could be the next name on that list. The team has liked the upside of Bjork, 24, and made that clear with a three-year, $4.8MM contract this summer. However, injury and inconsistency has made it hard to get a good look at the player. Now healthy and in the starting lineup through six games this season, that look hasn’t been good. Bjork has played on several different lines and with different line mates but nothing has clicked. He has zero points and just two shots on goal and hasn’t made a major impact defensively either. With the emergence of rookies Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic as NHL-ready assets and the upcoming injury returns of David Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase, there won’t be space left in the lineup for Bjork. Multiple sources are now reporting that in anticipation of this result, interest is growing in the young winger. Bjork may not be a fit in Boston right now, but as a player with positional and two-way versatility and under team control for several years, a number of teams could be interested in taking a chance. With a lineup that is looking pretty complete so far this season, Bjork may also come cheap with the Bruins opting for a pick or prospect rather than a roster player in return.

Keith Yandle Available For Trade, Will Not Play For Panthers This Season

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The Florida Panthers have made the major decision to move away from one of their veteran leaders. Appearing on TSN’s “Insider Trading”, Frank Seravalli states that the Panthers have told Keith Yandle that he is not in their plans for this season. This appears to be a mere personnel choice for Florida and new GM Bill Zito, as Seravalli reports that he has simply “fallen out of favor”.

However, Yandle’s current contract – a seven-year, $44.5MM pact with three years remaining – contains a full No-Movement Clause. He cannot be placed on waivers without his permission, nor can he be traded without approving the deal. As a result, the only plan for now appears to be making him a healthy scratch. While this will sadly mean the end of Yandle’s NHL-best 866-game “iron man” consecutive games played streak, he will still be a member of the team getting paid in full for his (lack of) services. That clearly cannot last for the Panthers.

Florida has overhauled their blue line this off-season, acquiring Radko Gudas and Markus Nutivaara and more recently claiming Gustav Forsling and Noah Juulsen off of waivers. They appear to content to move forward with this younger, new-look group. That should not however be read as an indictment of Yandle’s ability. The 34-year-old is still a very capable puck-moving defenseman who recorded 45 points in 69 games last season. In terms of per-game scoring, it was right in line with some of Yandle’s best offensive seasons. The veteran is obviously durable, but he is also consistent, good for 40+ points in each of his nine 82-game seasons.  Yandle may be just 24 games away from 1,000 for his career, but he has not lost a step.

A skilled and experienced defenseman who is respected across the league and has shown no signs of slowing down, Yandle should draw trade interest. Even in a season where money is tight and trades are expected to be scarce, the chance to bring in a reliable play-maker like Yandle should intrigue a number of teams. Due to his high salary cap hit and extended term, the Panthers may be required to take back a bad contract or eat a significant portion of Yandle’s salary. However, they have put themselves in this position by publicly moving on from a good player who is still under contract with restrictive terms, hurting their bargaining power. How this situation shakes out will be a major story in the early part of this new season.

Florida Panthers Claim Noah Juulsen

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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.

43 Players Placed On Waivers

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As teams begin to make their final camp decisions with the 2020-21 season getting started this week, the ramifications are apparent in today’s waiver wire group. All nine players from Saturday’s waivers cleared, but that is less likely to occur Sunday with a much longer list, including some more notable names. The following players have been placed on waivers today:

Buffalo Sabres
D Brandon Davidson
F Steven Fogarty
F C.J. Smith
G Dustin Tokarski

Calgary Flames
G Louis Domingue
F Byron Froese
F Justin Kirkland
D Alex Petrovic
F Buddy Robinson

Colorado Avalanche
F Kiefer Sherwood

Edmonton Oilers
F Adam Cracknell
F Seth Griffith

Florida Panthers
G Philippe Desrosiers
F Scott Wilson

Los Angeles Kings
D Daniel Brickley
F Boko Imama

Minnesota Wild
D Matt Bartekowski
D Louie Belpedio
F Joseph Cramarossa
F Gabriel Dumont
G Andrew Hammond
F Luke Johnson
F Gerald Mayhew
D Dakota Mermis
D Ian McCoshen
F Kyle Rau

Montreal Canadiens
F Brandon Baddock
F Alex Belzile
F Joseph Blandisi
F Laurent Dauphin
D Noah Juulsen
G Charlie Lindgren
D Gustav Olofsson
D Xavier Ouellet
F Jordan Weal

New York Islanders
F Joshua Ho-Sang
F Mason Jobst

Ottawa Senators
D Maxime Lajoie

Pittsburgh Penguins
D Kevin Czuczman
F Josh Currie
F Frederick Gaudreau
G Maxime Lagace
D Zach Trotman

Among the names likely to receive attention on the wire are a trio of intriguing young players. Defensemen Noah Juulsen and Maxime Lajoie and forward Josh Ho-Sang have all seen NHL action in the past and have shown promise but for different reasons are now available to claim. Juulsen in particular looked like a long-term permanent piece on the Montreal blue line, but vision issues brought on by head injuries knocked him out of the 2018-19 season after 21 games with the Habs and limited him to just 13 AHL games in 2019-20. The Canadiens clearly want to see him get in some game action before returning him to the NHL roster, but another club may have more faith in the young defenseman, who allegedly is back at full strength. After 56 games with the Ottawa Senators in 2018-19, including a hot scoring start, Lajoie was somewhat inexplicably reduced to just six games with the team this past season. A versatile all-around defenseman who has already shown in a small sample size that he can hack it in the NHL, Lajoie could certainly draw interest from a team more willing to give him another chance. Ho-Sang, a first-round pick of the Islanders back in 2014, is on the outs with his club. A future in New York seems non-existent for a player whose effort and attitude have been called into question. His limited action last season also doesn’t help his case.  Yet, Ho-Sang’s skill is apparent and that alone is a cause for pause for teams scouring the waiver wire.

As for a more polished possible pick-up, Jordan Weal leads the pack as a veteran of over 200 NHL games who has posted an 82-game scoring pace of 25 points or more in three straight seasons. Seth Griffith is also no stranger to being passed around via waivers and Frederick Gaudreau is coming off a career-high 55 NHL appearances last season and has strong scoring numbers throughout his AHL career.

This waiver group could also provide goalie depth for a team in need (see: New Jersey Devils). Andrew Hammond, Louis Domingue, Dustin Tokarski, and Charlie Lindgren are all veteran net minders with NHL experience who could provide some stability in net.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Noah Juulsen

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The Montreal Canadiens have taken care of one of their restricted free agents (though not the one some are hoping for). Noah Juulsen has signed a new one-year, two-way contract with the team worth $700K in the NHL.

Juulsen, 23, was a first-round pick of the Canadiens back in 2015 but has hand incredibly bad injury luck over his short professional career. In 2017, just a few weeks after GM Marc Bergevin called him “very close” to being NHL ready, Juulsen suffered a broken foot in an exhibition game. Your first taste of professional is hard enough without having a six-week recovery period keeping you off the ice at the beginning of the season. Juulsen would play 23 games for the Canadiens and 31 for the Laval Rocket, but clearly had more to give.

A year later, in November of 2018, Juulsen’s terrible luck reared its ugly head once again. While playing in the NHL with the Canadiens, Juulsen had slowly worked his way up the lineup and even logged more than 20 minutes of ice time in a win against the Vancouver Canucks. He looked ready to contribute on a nightly basis, playing top-four minutes for the Canadiens and fulfilling his first-round pick status. Then, in a game against the Washington Capitals, he was struck in the face with the puck on two occasions and was forced to leave.

Ruled out indefinitely, Juulsen actually did make a return to play a few games with both the Canadiens and the Laval Rocket of the AHL. In February however, he was shut down due to a “vision-related issue.” In September 2019 he was still suffering from headaches, though just a month later he was cleared for action once again. He ended up departing the team in November to see a specialist, and the 13 games he had played for Laval to that point remained his total for the rest of the season.

With a new deal and a clean bill of health, Juulsen will attempt to make a comeback even at the age of 23. He has played just 93 professional games over parts of four seasons, but still possesses all the skills to be a regular in the Montreal lineup. He’ll have to prove it, but if he is truly healthy Montreal could still have a valuable asset on their hands.

Canadiens Notes: Price, Juulsen, Romanov

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The Montreal Canadiens were embarrassed on home ice last night by a division and historical rival, losing to the Boston Bruins 8-1. As part of the loss, Carey Price was pulled from the net for the first time in more than 100 games, finishing with five goals against on 11 shots. That dropped his season save percentage down a whopping seven points, taking him to just .900 on the year.

That number is obviously influenced heavily by his last game, but the overall struggles of Price and the Canadiens have to be concerning at this point to the front office. The team has now lost five straight including overtime losses to the Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils, considered some of the weakest teams in the Eastern Conference. Even before last night’s debacle, Price’s .907 save percentage on the year wasn’t up to his standards and needs to improve if the Canadiens stand any chance of competing in the tough Atlantic Division.

  • If you were hoping that Noah Juulsen would be available soon to help out on defense, you might have to wait a little while longer. Laval Rocket broadcaster Anthony Marcotte reports that Juulsen did not travel with the team to Belleville and is instead meeting with a specialist about his recurring migraines. The 22-year old first-round pick has played in 13 games for the Rocket this season, recording three points.
  • Some more defensive help may be on the way down the line though, as Mitch Brown of The Athletic (subscription required) examines the incredible development of Canadiens’ prospect Alexander Romanov in Russia this year. Selected 38th overall in 2018, the 19-year old Romanov has improved dramatically over the last 18 months and is logging regular minutes for CSKA Moscow in the KHL. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express reports that Montreal GM Marc Bergevin is expected to arrive in Russia to meet with Romanov in the next few days. The young defenseman’s KHL contract only runs through April 2020, meaning he could come to North America next season if Bergevin can convince him.

Noah Juulsen Cleared To Join Laval Rocket

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It’s been a rough few seasons for Montreal Canadiens prospect Noah Juulsen, but hopefully things are starting get back on track. The team announced today that Juulsen has been medically cleared to return to action and will be joining the Laval Rocket of the AHL tonight in Milwaukee.

The 22-year old defenseman had been dealing with ongoing headaches this summer, after a vision-related injury kept him out for much of last season. Juulsen took two pucks to the face last November and ended up playing just 24 total games between the Canadiens and Rocket in 2018-19. Originally selected 26th overall in 2015, the young defender has looked promising whenever he gets on the ice, that just hasn’t ever lasted very long. Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Juulsen has only played in 78 games at any level.

His return to the ice comes at a good time for Montreal, who are struggling to find much consistency on defense. The team has obvious talent among their NHL group, but have now given up 20 goals in their first five games and gotten off to a 1-1-2 start. Even that sole win was in a shootout, meaning things could have easily looked even worse had it not been for some Carey Price heroics against the Toronto Maple Leafs. While there’s no telling what kind of impact Juulsen will have right away, he’ll certainly be in the mix for NHL minutes if he can prove he is healthy again.

Snapshots: Juulsen, Rantanen, Gust

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The Montreal Canadiens have announced some troubling news regarding young defenseman Noah Juulsen, who is planning on consulting a specialist for his ongoing headaches. Juulsen just can’t seem to stay healthy long enough to take a real step forward in his development, having missed all but 24 games at any level last season after taking two pucks to the face in November.

Originally drafted 26th overall in 2015, the former WHL standout has actually only played in a total of 80 games as a professional and seems to still be facing symptoms that could put the start of his season in jeopardy. Even if he does get them sorted out quickly the team now has eight NHL defensemen on the roster and more coming up the pipeline. While Juulsen could likely pass over names like Karl Alzner and Christian Folin quickly, he’ll have to get healthy to even give himself a chance.

  • After another report recently that the Colorado Avalanche and Mikko Rantanen are not close to a deal, it looks like he’s found another unsigned RFA to spend some time with. According to a report out of Finland, Rantanen will join Patrik Laine with SC Bern of the Swiss NLA to train until things are resolved. Rantanen also played in the 2016 World Championship under Bern head coach Kari Jalonen, where Laine earned tournament MVP honors and the Finns took home a silver medal.
  • Even though most minor league rosters are set at this point and just waiting for training camp cuts from their NHL affiliates, the Charlotte Checkers aren’t done adding depth. The team signed Dave Gust to an AHL deal today, bringing in the former Ohio State star to give them another option up front. The 25-year old Gust has played the last two seasons with the Bakersfield Condors, scoring 33 points in 59 games last year.

Atlantic Notes: Honka, Juulsen, Chabot, Stralman, Nordstrom

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Despite rumors that the Dallas Stars were looking for a taker for once prized prospect Julius Honka, the 23-year-old finally requested a trade Friday with several teams immediately showing interest in the blueliner. Now Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reports that the Montreal Canadiens have expressed interest in the defenseman.

Engels writes that a couple of teams are in on Honka with Montreal being at the top of the list (Elliotte Friedman added that Carolina is interested as well) and Montreal has expressed interest in making a player-for-player swap rather than just send a draft pick for Honka. A former first-rounder in 2014, Honka has failed to earn a regular spot in Dallas lineup. Montreal could use some more depth on their blueline despite adding Ben Chiarot this offseason.

  • Sticking with the Canadiens, Engels also reports that a pair of defensemen remain day-to-day in Montreal. Karl Alzner is out with a groin injury, while Noah Juulsen has been dealing with a headache and the Canadiens are holding him out for precautionary reasons after having dealt with head injuries last season. Juulsen played just 21 games for Montreal last season and three for the AHL’s Laval Rocket due to those head injuries.
  • Asked if any Ottawa Senators players caught his eye on the first day of training camp, new head coach D.J. Smith had a quick answer, according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. “Chabot … he was really good and he could really skate. There’s good players out there and guys were working, but when you see up close, a guy like that, you see his skating and it really wows you a bit.” It looks like Smith has opted to pair Chabot with newly acquired Nikita Zaitsev and the belief is that those two may stay together. Chabot spent last season paired with Dylan DeMelo, but with several players coming over with Smith from Ottawa, the defense should be somewhat stronger this season.
  • The Athletic’s George Richards (subscription required) writes that Florida Panthers defenseman Anton Stralman says that he intends to be ready for the regular season after dealing with a sports hernia injury that has ended his season last year and one that required surgery again oer the summer, which he’s been rehabbing from all summer. Stralman says that he is done rehabbing, but now must get used to on-ice drills, which his body is only starting to adjust to. “I’m not 100 percent yet. We still have some more work to do, but I am getting there,” Stralman said. “I like the plan we have as a medical team, and it means working long hours to get where I need to be. But there is no rehab anymore. It’s about repetition, getting onto the ice.” Stralman looks to be paired with Mike Matheson on defense this season.
  • NBC Sports’ Joe Haggerty writes that despite all the injuries that the Boston Bruins are dealing with, the team got some good news as Joakim Nordstrom, who fractured his foot at the end of the Stanley Cup Finals, is back on the ice skating after spending the summer rehabbing the injury. While his 12 points in 70 games may not seem impressive, the 27-year-old uses his skills on the penalty kill and providing grit on the bottom line.

Noah Juulsen Will Not Play Again This Season

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While he is still expected to make an eventual recovery from the “vision-related issue” that has kept him out for much of the season, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Noah Juulsen will not play again this year according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.

Juulsen, 21, has had a rough start to his professional career since being selected 26th overall in 2015. In 2017 as he was preparing for his first pro season he broke his foot in training camp, and was limited to just 54 games across two levels in the 2017-18 season. This year he’s played even fewer, suiting up just 24 times between the NHL and AHL. In November Juulsen was hit in the face twice by errant pucks and suffered facial fractures, taking him out of the lineup for a long stretch. He actually returned to play a few games but will now be shut down for the rest of the year.

Vision related issues are often quite serious and there was some worry that Juulsen’s career would be in jeopardy. That doesn’t appear to be the case right now, but we’ll have to keep a close watch on him as he recovers through the offseason. Hopefully he can return at full strength for the Canadiens and be a key part of their blue line for a long time.

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