While the season isn’t over yet for the Devils, GM Tom Fitzgerald has already identified an area outside the crease that he’d like to address for 2024-25. In an interview with The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun (subscription link), Fitzgerald indicated that he’d like his team “get harder on the wing” for next season. New Jersey has been hovering around the top ten for offense this year despite missing several key players due to injuries so it appears their preference would be to add some grit to help complement their skilled forwards. As things stand, New Jersey has around $21MM in cap space for next season, per CapFriendly, giving Fitzgerald ample wiggle room to work with to reshape parts of his roster.
Elsewhere in the East:
- Sabres winger Lukas Rousek left today’s practice early after taking a stick to the face. Head coach Don Granato told reporters including Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News that Rousek’s status for tomorrow’s game is unknown as he was undergoing medical evaluation. The 24-year-old has two assists in nine games so far with Buffalo after a strong showing with AHL Rochester where he notched 10 goals and 28 assists in 48 contests.
- The Rangers announced (Twitter link) that center Alexander Wennberg was unavailable to play tonight for personal reasons. He and his wife are expecting a child in the coming days. The 29-year-old was acquired from Seattle earlier this month and he has fared relatively well in the early going with his new team, picking up four points in nine games so far. However, his playing time is down by nearly four minutes a night as he’s averaging 15:01 with his new team.
- Penguins prospect Vasiliy Ponomarev suffered a lower-body injury late last week with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, relays Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 22-year-old was a key piece in the Jake Guentzel trade and was speculated to be a strong recall candidate for the stretch run. However, Ponomarev is now listed as out week-to-week which will put those plans on hold if not squash them altogether.