Olli Juolevi and Austin Czarnik both claimed off waivers on Sunday.
Both players are with a new team.
Two players in the National Hockey League have new homes today after they failed to clear the waiver process on Sunday.
NHL insider Chris Johnston is reporting that veteran forward Austin Czarnik has been claimed by the New York Islanders after he was placed on waivers Saturday by the NHL's newest expansion team, the Seattle Kraken. The 29 year old centerman has bounced around quite a bit during his NHL career, playing for the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, New York Islanders and the Seattle Kraken, but now he will find himself returning to a familiar place with the aforementioned Islanders.
It would appear as though Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello and Islanders head coach Barry Trotz were interested in getting the journeyman center back on their roster, and hopefully for Czarnik this will be some more ice time as he heads back to his former team.
Czarnik appeared in only 6 regular season games for the Kraken all season, so it's very possible that he will actually spend more time playing in the NHL this season for the Islanders than he did with the Kraken.
Perhaps the more interesting news of the day however is the fact that former first round pick (5th overall) at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Olli Juolevi, will once again get a fresh start on a new team. In spite of his draft pedigree Juolevi has never been able to establish himself as a regular defenseman at the NHL level and his stint with the Florida Panthers was no different. In spite of the fact that the Panthers traded for Juolevi back in October, acquiring him from the team that drafted him, the Vancouver Canucks, he would only play 10 games for the Panthers this season before being waived on Saturday.
The Red Wings have struggled with defensemen on the left side of the ice this season which means that Juolevi is likely to get some playing time under general manager Steve Yzerman and head coach Jeff Blashill, although whether or not he can establish himself in a more consistent role this time remains to be seen. The main issue for Juolevi throughout his career has been his inability to stay healthy, and no doubt that will likely be the biggest challenge for him in Detroit as well.
