Metropolitan Notes: Devils, Pacioretty, Oshie

With the Devils missing Dougie Hamilton for the foreseeable future, many expect them to make a move to shore up their back end, even with Simon Nemec coming up from AHL Utica for the time being.  ESPN’s Kevin Weekes suggests (Twitter link) that their desired piece is someone who plays a different style than Hamilton.  Instead of another offensively-skilled blueliner, Weekes feels that New Jersey wants a stabilizer on the back end, one who could play a physical game and block shots, surmising that Calgary’s Chris Tanev could be the type of player they’re looking for.  Even with Hamilton on the shelf, they do have some offensive upside from the back end with Luke Hughes and John Marino in the fold so it certainly makes sense for New Jersey to be looking for a different type of complementary player.

More from the Metropolitan:

• Capitals winger Max Pacioretty skated daily last week as he continues his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon, relays NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). However, the veteran is still at least two weeks away from returning according to head coach Spencer Carbery.  Pacioretty signed a one-year contract with Washington this summer, one that carries a base cap hit of $2MM while he can add up to $2MM more in games played incentives.  He was limited to just five games last season but had 37 points in 39 appearances in 2021-22 with Vegas.  When he returns, Washington will be hoping he can get back to that level of production.
• Still with the Capitals, Gulitti relays in a separate tweet that winger T.J. Oshie took part in practice today in a non-contact jersey as he works his way back from an upper-body injury. The next step is a full skate in a contact sweater which could come tomorrow, paving the way for a return as soon as Saturday.  Oshie has missed the last couple of weeks with that injury after a particularly rough start to his campaign as he has just one goal and one assist in his first 17 games.