Free agent defenseman Reilly Walsh has a one-year deal with Kazakhstan’s Barys Astana of the KHL, the team announced.
Walsh, 26, heads overseas for the first time in his career after spending the past several seasons as a productive minor-leaguer. He was drafted out of prep school by the Devils in the third round of the 2017 draft before going for three years at Harvard, signing his entry-level deal with New Jersey in 2020.
While the right-shot Massachusetts native has shown good offensive instincts wherever he goes, it has never translated into much NHL time. He only has one appearance to his name, posting an assist and two blocks in 14:23 of ice time for the Devils in a late-season game against the Senators in 2022.
Walsh remained in the New Jersey organization until the summer of 2023, when the Devils traded his signing rights to the Bruins in exchange for Shane Bowers. He signed a two-way contract with Boston a few weeks later, but spent the entirety of the following season on loan to AHL Providence. That gave him the trifecta needed – age 25, less than 80 games of NHL experience, and at least three years of pro experience – to reach the open market early via Group VI unrestricted free agency.
He landed a slightly richer two-way deal with the Kings last summer but met the same fate. He scored six goals and 32 points in 70 games for the AHL’s Ontario Reign and again became a Group VI UFA on July 1. He presumably landed a richer offer from Barys – although the club has had some recent financial struggles – than any two-way guarantees an NHL team was offering him, if there even were any.
Walsh pauses his career stateside for now with a 38-121–159 scoring line in 304 career AHL contests for Binghamton/Utica, Providence, and Ontario. He joins an Astana club that also has former NHLers Ian McCoshen, Olivier Rodrigue, and Mike Vecchione rostered for 2025-26.