Two Players Placed On Waivers Including Former Hurricanes First Round Pick Julien Gauthier

Typically, the NHL will release the names of players who have been placed on waivers by their team for the purpose of either being reassigned to the AHL or perhaps just an outright buyout. It's normally the lower-end players who unfortunately don't get to make the cut, although the NHL has seen bigger names on the waiver wire including Steve Sullivan, Ilya Bryzgalov, and Hall of Famer Mark Recchi.

On Sunday, October 20th it was announced per NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman posted on his X account that New York Islanders forward and former first-round pick Julien Gauthier and New Jersey Devils forward Adam Beckman were both placed on waivers:

Gauthier, a former first-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2016 played sporadically throughout his NHL career so far and hasn't really found a role on any team as of yet. Drafted ahead of names such as Tage Thompson, Jordan Kyrou, and Jesper Bratt, it feels like Carolina had some buyer's remorse with Gauthier, trading him to the New York Rangers for Joey Keane.

Once again traded, this time to Ottawa during the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, Gauthier was decent for the Senators before signing with the Islanders in the summer of 2023. Bouncing around between the NHL and AHL, Gauthier was unable to keep a spot this year and looks to be headed back to Bridgeport unless claimed.

Gauthier has 19 goals and 22 assists in 180 career NHL games including a career-high six goals with the Rangers in 2022-2023.

Beckman, drafted 75th overall by the Minnesota Wild in 2019 hasn't been a factor in the Wild's plans and hasn't shown the potential he had during his time in Spokane where he scored 186 points in 152 games including an incredible 107-point season in 2019-2020. Having only played in 23 games for the Wild in his career, he has yet to register his first career goal but does have three assists.

Traded this summer to New Jersey for forward Graeme Clarke; a player who was drafted five spots behind Julien Gauthier in 2019, it's been a rough start for Beckman this season as he got injured in the preseason and hasn't been able to showcase his ability for New Jersey just yet. His waiver assignment will presumably see him head to Utica in order to get his conditioning back and could find himself a call-up at some point for a game.