Montreal Canadiens Should Claim Olli Juolevi Off Waivers

The Montreal Canadiens have already had some luck on the waiver wire this season.

They picked up Samuel Montembeault early in the season and have used him more than they ever could have imagined. That is because of injuries to Carey Price and Jake Allen that have lingered on much longer than originally expected.

The Habs also plucked Kale Clague and Rem Pitlick off waivers, with Clague filling in a depth role on the blue line and Pitlick providing some unexpected scoring punch.

While grabbing three players off waivers that become regulars in the lineup might already be a record, the Canadiens should not stop there. Also, it probably says a lot about the current state of the Canadiens that so many players placed on waivers find a role on the team, but we are all well aware of how this season is going for the Habs.

Since they are not fooling anyone about where their season is headed, they should continue to add young talent off waivers and see if they can find a role.

Take Olli Juolevi for example. The Florida Panthers placed him on waivers yesterday and he is available to be grabbed for free. A Stanley Cup contender like the Panthers may not have room for him this season, but a cellar dweller like the Canadiens could.

Juolevi was the 5th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, but he just hasn’t lived up to his hype. After a terrific Junior career with the London Knights, Juolevi has battled injury after injury and now finds himself battling for ice time while frequently sitting as a healthy scratch for the Panthers.

To clear roster space, the Panthers finally placed the 23 year old defenceman on waivers. He has played just 13 games of hockey this season after suiting up for 23 last season. Before that, he has shown a lot of potential by scoring 38 points in 63 games at the AHL level over two seasons.

The Canadiens are about to deal a few defenders and could use some help on the blue line. If they move pending free agents Ben Chiarot, Brett Kulak and Chris Wideman, there isn’t enougbbodies around to fill the void. They are also rumoured to be possibly trading Jeff Petry, so they need to bring someone in to play the final two months of the season after the trade deadline.

Why not a former top five pick who is only 23 years old? He could really break out if he actually gets to play games consistently at the NHL level.

With some waiver wire luck already this season, and a huge void about to open up on defence, it would make a lot of sense for the Canadiens to grab Olli Juolevi off waivers today.

It would be a bit of a full circle moment as the Canadiens lost Noah Juulsen on waivers last season to the Panthers. Juulsen was then traded to the Canucks for Juolevi.

Want your voice heard? Join the A Winning Habit team!

Write for us!