One of the goals of the preseason is to get through things injury-free or as close to it as possible. While plenty of teams have been successful on that front over the past few weeks (at least so far), the Devils have not been one of those. Speaking with reporters (video link), head coach Sheldon Keefe provided updates on several players, with most of them not of the positive variety.
Prospect blueliner Seamus Casey was having a strong training camp but that has come to a sudden conclusion. He is now dealing with an undisclosed injury with Keefe noting that he won’t be on skates for the foreseeable future. The 21-year-old had four goals and four assists in just 14 games with New Jersey last season while also notching 18 points in 30 games with AHL Utica. It looked like he had a realistic chance of breaking camp with the team but instead, he’ll start the season on season-opening injured reserve where he’ll have a prorated cap charge relative to the percentage of time he was on New Jersey’s roster last season.
The one good injury tidbit also came on the back end. Brett Pesce skated Friday after leaving their last preseason game early. At this point, his availability for opening night remains up in the air but the fact he was skating suggests that he either will be available for that game or should be back soon after. Pesce had 17 points and 138 blocked shots in 72 games last season while averaging over 21 minutes a night of playing time.
Meanwhile, up front, winger Stefan Noesen has been dealing with a groin injury that he played through last season and re-aggravated over the summer. While the hope was that he was making some progress in recovery, Keefe noted that he is not yet close to playing. The 32-year-old had a career year last season, collecting 22 goals and 41 points in 78 games while chipping in with 152 hits but now he won’t be available on opening night either.
The same can be said for center Juho Lammikko. After spending the last three seasons in Switzerland with Zurich, he signed a one-year, $800K contract to try to return to the NHL. However, Keefe indicated that he is out for the near future as well. Notably, his contract is a one-way pact, meaning it will count in full against New Jersey’s salary cap while he’s injured, even if he’s ultimately going to be ticketed to play in Utica.