at CDT | by Gavin Lee 6 Comments
The waiver wire is full as teams continue to get closer to regular season rosters. These are the players available today, after Radim Zohorna and Magnus Hellberg were claimed from yesterday’s list.
Anaheim Ducks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Trey Fix-Wolansky
Gavin Bayreuther
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
Joe Hicketts
Joseph Cramarossa
Tampa Bay Lightning
Winnipeg Jets
at CDT | by Josh Erickson 12 Comments
The Anaheim Ducks have signed defenseman Olli Juolevi to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2022-23 season, per the team. PuckPedia reports the contract has a $750K NHL salary and a $175K minors salary with $200K guaranteed. Juolevi will be a restricted free agent upon the contract’s expiration.
Since the Vancouver Canucks drafted Juolevi fifth overall in 2016, the Finnish defenseman simply hasn’t been able to make an NHL impact. His 2021-22 campaign may have been the most challenging and disappointing yet, registering no points in 18 games split between the Florida Panthers and Detroit Red Wings.
Now on his fourth NHL team at age 24, Juolevi was actually left unqualified by Detroit this offseason, choosing to move on from the former top prospect. Injuries bogged down Juolevi in the minors and slowed his development, but the Ducks are hoping there’s something left in the tank for the all-around defenseman.
at CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments
March 8: DeKeyser has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the minor leagues. With Vrana already confirmed for tonight’s game, the team will need to move someone off the roster to make room for his return. If they do assign DeKeyser to the AHL, $1.125MM of his cap hit would be buried. Sustr meanwhile was claimed by the Anaheim Ducks.
March 7: After claiming Olli Juolevi yesterday, the Detroit Red Wings have placed a veteran defenseman on waivers. Danny DeKeyser has been waived, along with Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Andrej Sustr, according to Chris Johnston of TSN.
DeKeyser, 32, cleared waivers multiple times last season but has spent this year on the active roster while he plays out the end of his long-term contract. Signed to a six-year, $30MM deal in 2016, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career this offseason. Where his career goes next is unclear, as the once stalwart two-way defender has found his role diminished in recent years.
Interestingly enough, at even-strength DeKeyser has played almost exclusively alongside rookie phenom Moritz Seider, giving the young defenseman a stable veteran partner to lean on as he transitions to NHL life. But it’s that even-strength ice time that has come way down, with DeKeyser averaging less than four other regular defensemen in Detroit. On the other hand, the penalty kill is where he still provides some nice value, logging the most short-handed time of any Red Wings player, but none of that would suggest that a team would take a chance on his $5MM cap hit through waivers. With Juolevi now in the fold–and a roster spot likely needed for Jakub Vrana’s impending activation–it’s not clear what role DeKeyser will have on the Red Wings down the stretch.
For Sustr, waivers is nothing new. He has already cleared them before the season began, and several other times throughout his NHL career. This season he has played in 15 games for the Lightning, basically serving more as a practice player and injury insurance than anything else. If he clears, he’ll likely be bounced up and down between the AHL and NHL for another chunk of the season.
at CDT | by John Gilroy 1 Comment
Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, both players on waivers today were claimed. Austin Czarnik, who was placed on waivers by the Seattle Kraken, was claimed by the New York Islanders. After being placed on waivers by the Florida Panthers yesterday, Olli Juolevi will be headed to the Detroit Red Wings, having been claimed as well.
For Czarnik, this will mark his second stint with the Islanders organization, having only departed after being claimed on waivers by the Kraken back on February 8th. In his time with Seattle, Czarnik played in just six games, recording two assists. Prior to being placed on waivers by the Islanders, Czarnik had a fairly impressive two goals and three assists in 11 games for the Islanders, to go along with 15 points in 20 games with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders this season. Speaking of Bridgeport, the Islanders announced that Czarnik will be assigned to Bridgeport. The organization is able to assign Czarnik directly to the AHL without waivers, as they were the only team to put a claim in on the forward.
Juolevi will go to his third organization in two years after being traded by the Vancouver Canucks to Florida back in October. It has been a struggle for the once top prospect, bouncing between injured-reserve and the Panthers, playing in only 10 games, failing to record a point, and averaging just 12:27 time-on-ice. Perhaps a fresh start with a new organization more suited to give him extra minutes could be what Juolevi needs.
at CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments
When Florida acquired defenseman Olli Juolevi from Vancouver at the beginning of the season in exchange for defenseman Noah Juulsen and center Juho Lammikko, they were hoping they’d be able to unlock some of the potential that made him the fifth-overall pick in 2016. That hasn’t happened and they’ve decided to try someone else in that roster spot as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Panthers have placed the 23-year-old on waivers.
Juolevi has been limited to just 10 NHL games this season, only one of which has come in the last six weeks. As has often been the case throughout his career, injuries have been an issue as he has missed 29 games due to injury plus three more for a stint in COVID protocol. When he has been in Florida’s lineup, he hasn’t done a whole lot, averaging just 12:27 per game while not recording any points.
The Panthers recently signed Petteri Lindbohm after his deal overseas ended when Jokerit pulled out of the KHL and it’s likely that he will get a look in that seventh defenseman role in the short term while Florida has been looking to add to their back end between now and the trade deadline.
As for Juolevi, it’s certainly possible he gets claimed. With a league-minimum contract, it’s one that most teams would be able to afford and a rebuilding team may be inclined to take a look at him with the pressure off. He’s set to become a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration eligibility.
at CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment
Vladislav Namestnikov’s second season with the Red Wings has been a more productive one as the 29-year-old has 11 goals and nine assists through the first 40 games, already surpassing his point total from last season. As a result, he could be one of Detroit’s more intriguing rentals heading into the trade deadline.
However, if Namestnikov has his way, he won’t be going anywhere at all as he told reporters including Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News that he’s open to an extension and that “it would be great to stay”. Namestnikov has a $2MM cap hit and should be looking at a similar price tag on his next deal. A short-term deal to stay with the Red Wings is certainly plausible although if they can get a decent future asset in a trade over the next couple of months, they may prefer to go that route over signing an extension now.
More from the Atlantic:
at CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment
The Florida Panthers will be without two forwards for their next game, as both Sam Reinhart and Mason Marchment have been added to the COVID protocol. The team has also placed assistant coach Tuomo Ruutu in the protocol.
Reinhart and Marchment will be unavailable for tomorrow’s match against the Calgary Flames and, if they tested positive, Thursday’s game against the Dallas Stars, but shortened isolation periods could mean those are the only two they miss. Olli Juolevi, who had been in the protocol, was back at practice today for the Panthers.
The Panthers are also without Sam Bennett after his recent suspension, meaning they’ll be shorthanded as they head into a tough matchup against the Flames. Reinhart has been excellent of late, scoring 13 points in 10 games since the start of December and climbing to second place among all Panthers with 26 points in 32 games on the season.
at CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment
A pair of preseason injuries are no longer limiting two players that are looking to push for more NHL opportunity this season. PuckPedia reports that the Florida Panthers have activated veteran defenseman Kevin Connauton from the Season-Opening Injured Reserve and CapFriendly reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs have done the same with young goaltender Joseph Woll.
Connauton, 33, is just two years removed from being a starter for the Arizona Coyotes and the year before that set a career high with 21 points and 73 games. Yet, the past two years he has been used sparingly, to say the least. Connauton played in only four games with the Colorado Avalanche in 2019-20 and last season suited up for just seven games with the Panthers. Despite his limited NHL time of late, Florida still re-signed the experienced blue liner this summer and at least seem willing to give him a shot at a permanent job by not only activating him to the NHL roster, but making room by demoting priority NCAA free agent addition Matt Kiersted. The Cats are still only carrying seven defensemen with Markus Nutivaara currently on injured reserve, but Connauton may still have to prove he is worthy of a roster spot before Nutivaara returns. With solid depth on the blue line, recently supplemented by the acquisition of Olli Juolevi, Florida needs a reason to keep Connauton on the NHL roster and his seven games last season may not be enough. Getting healthy and back in action as quickly as he did certainly helps his case though.
Woll, 23, may ironically have a better shot at NHL opportunity this season despite having no experience in the league. The 2016 third-round pick, who was a standout at Boston College, has been with the AHL Marlies for the past two seasons and while his numbers aren’t eye-popping, his play continues to draw praise. The Toronto net is far from set and just while Woll was recovering from injury himself, the Leafs lost off-season addition Petr Mrazek to injury. Mrazek signed a three-year deal this summer, but has a history of injury issues. Current starter Jack Campbell and backup Michael Hutchinson are on expiring contracts and will be on the wrong side of 30 as they look for their next deal. Between planning for the future and managing the present, the Maple Leafs have some incentive to give Woll a look – potentially a long look – this season. Now healthy, the young keeper can settle in down in the AHL and hopefully look forward to his NHL debut sooner rather than later.
at CDT | by Josh Erickson 4 Comments
Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports that the Florida Panthers are acquiring defenseman Olli Juolevi from the Vancouver Canucks. The move comes just two days ahead of the start of the regular season. The Athletic’s Thomas Drance reports that Vancouver will receive forward Juho Lammikko and defenseman Noah Juulsen in return.
Drafted fifth overall in 2016, the 23-year-old Finn has failed to secure an NHL role up to this point in his career and made his NHL debut just last season. He’ll now look for a bigger role and a different, potentially more favorable system under coach Joel Quenneville in Florida. General manager Bill Zito spoke about the acquisition today:
We are excited to welcome another young defenseman like Olli to our organization. We look forward to Olli developing with our club as he joins our deepening core on the blueline.
Juolevi tallied just two goals and an assist in 23 games with Vancouver this season, averaging 13:13 per game. With Florida, it’s possible that he resumes a seventh defenseman role while he’s given more time to work with coaching staff.
When he is ready to enter the NHL lineup in South Florida, he’ll have to likely knock off one of Markus Nutivaara or Brandon Montour for a spot in the lineup. It won’t be an easy task, but it is possible if Juolevi begins to realize his top-ten pick potential.
Juolevi had been productive in the AHL over the past few seasons, tallying 38 points in 63 games with the Utica Comets from 2018-2020. If given more of a role in Florida, it’s likely that his offensive and defensive play would improve.
at CDT | by Gavin Lee 5 Comments
It wasn’t so long ago that Olli Juolevi was the fifth-overall pick in the NHL draft. Now, after finally showing he can play at the NHL level, he has signed a one-year contract worth the league minimum of $750K with the Vancouver Canucks. Canucks GM Jim Benning released a short statement on the deal:
Last season was an important step in Olli’s development as an everyday NHL defenceman. We’re glad to have him signed and look forward to his game progressing further next season.
Now 23, Juolevi actually made his NHL debut in last year’s bubble playoffs, playing one game on the Canucks’ run. This year he suited up 23 times for the team, recording two goals and three points in limited minutes. He hasn’t developed as quickly as the Canucks hoped—especially compared to some of the defensemen taken after him in 2016, like Mikhail Sergachev and Charlie McAvoy—but there’s still hope that Juolevi can be a valuable member of the Canucks blueline moving forward.
There will be plenty of competition this time around, after the Canucks brought in Brad Hunt and Luke Schenn as veteran depth options, but there is still a path to playing time for Juolevi. The fact that he’s on a league-minimum deal will only help his cause as Vancouver tries to navigate a tricky salary cap situation.
Though they have $13.3MM left in cap space, the Canucks still have to sign Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson, not to mention an arbitration hearing coming up with Jason Dickinson. Things will get tight in a hurry, meaning cheap options like Juolevi could come in handy if he can prove he’s able to hold down a regular spot on the bottom-pair.
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