The Montreal Canadiens have signed defenceman Noah Juulsen for the 2020-21 season. The deal is just for one year and will pay Juulsen the minimum NHL salary of $700,000 if he is on the NHL roster. The team announced the signing early Thursday morning.
The Canadiens have agreed to terms with defenseman Noah Juulsen on a one-year, two-way contract.#GoHabsGohttps://t.co/jU0lhBROug
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 8, 2020
Canadiens Sign Noah Juulsen
Juulsen is a 23-year-old right-handed defenceman originally from Surrey, British Columbia. He spent all of 2019-20 with Montreal’s AHL affiliate in Laval where he posted three assists in 13 games. He has played in 44 games at the NHL level with two goals and eight points but those points came in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 campaigns. Juulsen looks like a much more phyisically-oriented defender with over 110 hits and 70 blocks in his brief NHL career.
The Canadiens originally selected Juulsen in the first round of the 2015 Draft. Nothing is especially flashy about the blueliner but he is a big, 6’2″, 193-pound defenceman who can skate and help control the puck. He doesn’t have a long track record but his career 47.7 Corsi For is acceptable for the moment. Injuries like migraines have impacted his overall development but there’s a possibility that he can help support Montreal’s penalty-killing unit in 2020-21.
What This Means for the Future
Juulsen goes into next season fighting for a roster spot. The Canadiens did clear one space by buying out Karl Alzner but the defence is fairly set for the moment. His best chance to open the year on the NHL roster is by beating out Xavier Ouellet. The 27-year-old Ouellet isn’t an offensive driver either so the two might swap out for each other through the season.
Montreal still has $10.8 million to sign players. They have to re-sign Victor Mete and recent acquisition Josh Anderson but those are the most pressing internal decisions. The Canadiens are in a good spot to make an upgrade or two if the offseason goes according to plan.
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