1/5: The Utah Hockey Club has claimed DeSimone off of waivers from the Devils, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. DeSimone will replace Dakota Mermis’ role as Utah’s seventh defenseman, after the Leafs reclaimed Mermis off of waivers from Utah. New Jersey also acquired DeSimone off of waivers, claiming him away from Calgary last season.
1/4: The Devils are making a move to open up a roster spot. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Devils have placed defenseman Nick DeSimone on waivers.
It’s the second time this season that the 30-year-old finds himself on the wire. DeSimone was put on waivers late in training camp and passed through unclaimed. That wasn’t the case last year when he was waived, however, as he wound up with New Jersey via a midseason claim from Calgary, getting into 11 games after that where he had a pair of points along with 21 blocked shots in 16:29 of playing time per contest. However, with the team much healthier and deeper on the back end going into the season, DeSimone lost his roster spot at the time.
DeSimone has been up with the Devils a few times this season. Those combined stints totalled more than 30 days which is why he needs to go back on waivers to return to AHL Utica even though he didn’t suit up once with the Devils while on recall. DeSimone has played in 12 games with the Comets when he hasn’t been in New Jersey, picking up three assists.
DeSimone is playing on a one-year, one-way contract worth the league minimum salary of $775K this season and is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Considering that some teams are dealing with some short-term injuries on the back end, it’s possible that DeSimone could find himself on the move when his waiver period expires at 1 PM CT on Sunday.
Utah is collecting quite a large group of blueline depth, Once Durzi, And Marino comeback, They will definitely have to make some deals, Utah is turning the corner for sure.
Utah needs to trade for a real team name