The Devils announced that they have activated right-winger Zack MacEwen from long-term injured reserve. To open a roster spot for him, Brian Halonen was assigned to AHL Utica yesterday. MacEwen will play in tonight’s matchup with the Islanders, head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed.
MacEwen, 29, was acquired from the Senators for Kurtis MacDermid in the final days of training camp. He was waived the following day and was reassigned to Utica, but got a recall back to the NHL roster before playing a game in the minors. MacEwen then sustained an upper-body injury in his season debut against the Lightning on Oct. 11, leaving him out indefinitely.
While not an earth-shattering move, the Devils could use the help at the bottom of their lineup. Evgenii Dadonov remains on long-term injured reserve after sustaining a fractured hand way back in the season opener, and they’re also slated to be without Connor Brown for the fifth straight game due to an undisclosed injury. New Jersey’s other fourth-line options in Brown’s absence, Halonen and Juho Lammikko, have combined for one goal in 15 games.
MacEwen won’t be a fix to the Devils’ tertiary scoring issues, but he does offer much more physicality and experience than either Halonen or Lammikko. Now in his eighth NHL season, MacEwen has 17 goals and 34 points in 238 career appearances to go along with 323 penalty minutes. He’s routinely had decent enough possession impacts for his limited roles, averaging 9:20 of ice time per game for his career, and has a decent minor-league scoring record.