Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Devils Rumors

Devils Activate Brett Pesce, Place Arseny Gritsyuk On Injured Reserve

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After missing the past 24 games with an upper-body injury, the Devils announced they’ve activated top-pair defenseman Brett Pesce from injured reserve, indicating he’ll be in the lineup tonight against the Golden Knights. The team placed winger Arseny Gritsyuk on IR retroactive to Dec. 11 in the corresponding move.

The Devils had been anxiously awaiting Pesce’s clearance for weeks, but the injection of a right-shot defender into the lineup became all the more important after Simon Nemec sustained an undisclosed injury during practice last Friday that will have him out for at least a couple of weeks. They’ve been dealing with the season-long absence of righty Johnathan Kovacevic as well, making Pesce’s standing on the team all the more important.

Pesce had three assists and a +3 rating in nine games to begin the year. That coincided with an 8-1-0 start to the year, making New Jersey look like a legitimate contender to end up atop the Metropolitan Division. Since then, the Devils have gone 10-13-1 with their possession numbers dipping in the process.

There are a variety of factors that go into a slump, but being forced into breaking up what had been one of the best defense pairs in the league through the early going is high on that list. Pesce and Luke Hughes had served as the Devils’ most dominant unit on the blue line, controlling 60.2% of expected goals. Without Pesce, Hughes has been underwater in every possession metric. His point production has dipped as well, down to 0.55 per game after peaking with 0.62 per game as a second-year player last season.

The Devils’ press release indicated Pesce will be paired with Hughes again tonight, ideally giving them a true top-pair level of play that Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler haven’t been able to provide in the interim.

A healthier defense is paramount to help overcome the loss of a fifth forward to the injured or non-roster list in Gritsyuk. The Russian rookie, who’s eighth on the team in scoring with seven goals and 16 points in 31 games, has already missed the last two games with an upper-body injury.

He joins Jack Hughes, Evgenii Dadonov, and Zack MacEwen on IR, while Timo Meier carries a non-roster designation while on personal leave. Since he’s already missed six days, Gritsyuk will be eligible to return on Dec. 19 against the Mammoth, but that’s not feasible since he didn’t travel with the team on their raod trip. It’ll be Sunday at home against the Sabres to mark Gritsyuk’s first opportunity to get back into the lineup.

Latest On Simon Nemec, Brett Pesce

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The New Jersey Devils are among the NHL’s most injured teams at this stage of the 2025-26 campaign, and their bad luck with injuries is only set to continue. Team reporter Amanda Stein relayed word today from Devils practice that defenseman Simon Nemec will be out until at least the holiday break.

Head coach Sheldon Keefe said, per Stein, that the team will have a better idea of Nemec’s recovery in two weeks, and will be able to determine what the next step is for him at that point. Nemec suffered a lower-body injury during practice on Friday and has missed back-to-back games for the Devils.

This development throws a bit of a wrench into what has been a breakout campaign for Nemec, the 2022 No. 2 overall pick. Nemec was a dynamic prospect during his draft year and played quite well at the AHL level, but took a little bit longer than some of his peers from his draft class to find his footing at the NHL level.

While the other top-five picks from the 2022 draft (Montreal’s Juraj Slafkovsky, Utah’s Logan Cooley, Seattle’s Shane Wright, and Anaheim’s Cutter Gauthier) had each managed to break into the NHL and establish themselves in meaningful scoring roles in 2023-24 and 2024-25, Nemec’s NHL role appeared to decline after his rookie campaign.

He skated in 60 NHL games in 2023-24, but only got into 27 games at the NHL level in 2024-25. His total of AHL games played consequently rose from 13 to 34 year-over-year.

While Nemec was spending most of last season back in the AHL, Slafkovsky was putting together his second consecutive 50-point season, Cooley was emerging as a star in Utah, and both Wright and Gauthier managed solid 44-point rookie campaigns.

Fans naturally compared Nemec to his peers from that draft class, and many considered his level of progress, which appeared slower than his peers, to be a matter of concern. But that level of concern wasn’t entirely fair, as defensemen often take a little longer than forwards to come into their own at the NHL level.

It could have hardly come as a surprise to Devils management, for example, that Nemec wouldn’t have his NHL breakout at exactly the same time as the forwards drafted near him. And so far in 2025-26, all Nemec has done is put together the same kind of breakout campaign his peers managed last year.

Nemec has 18 points through 31 games this season, a 48-point full-season pace. He’s been the Devils’ No. 3 defenseman in terms of ice time this season, and is also finding his way onto the team’s power play despite the presence of Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes already on the Devils’ roster.

In other words, the Nemec the Devils have received this season has been exactly the kind of dynamic, two-way force the team believed they’d get when they invested the No. 2 overall pick in him. That’s what makes Nemec’s new injury such an unfortunate development, as it puts a halt on Nemec’s breakout season for at least the next two weeks.

Thankfully for New Jersey, while they’re losing Nemec to a new injury, a key veteran right-shot defenseman appears to be nearing a return from injury: Brett Pesce. Stein reported today that Pesce participated in Devils practice and will travel with the team for their upcoming road trip. While Pesce, 31, doesn’t offer the same level of offensive ability Nemec brings to the table, he does offer a shutdown element to his game that this current Devils lineup is badly missing.

Pesce led all Devils blueliners in time-on-ice per game last season and his quality performances as a defensive defenseman more than made up for the Devils’ hefty investment in him. Pesce is under contract at a $5.5MM AAV through 2029-30, and his imminent return should soften the blow of losing Nemec and allow the Devils to remain competitive in what has been a hotly contested Metropolitan Division playoff race.

Photos courtesy Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

New Jersey Devils To Recall Nathan Legare

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

According to Ryan Novozinsky of NJdotcom, the New Jersey Devils are reportedly recalling forward Nathan Legare from the AHL’s Utica Comets. James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now confirmed the news.

Since the Devils already have 23 players on the active roster, another roster move is incoming. The likeliest outcome is that New Jersey will place defenseman Simon Nemec on the team’s injured reserve after suffering an injury at practice last week. Assuming the transaction is made retroactive to December 12th, Nemec can return when the Devils take on the Buffalo Sabres on December 21st.

Despite being a third-round pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2019 NHL Draft, Legare has spent most of his professional career in the Devils organization. After turning pro for the 2021-22 season, Legare spent the next two years with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, scoring 15 goals and 35 points in 125 games.

He ended up with the Montreal Canadiens for a short time due to his inclusion in the 2023 trade that landed defenseman Erik Karlsson with the Penguins. He registered three goals and nine points in 39 games for the AHL’s Laval Rocket before being sent to the Comets in a minor league swap.

Legare, 24, made his NHL debut with New Jersey last season and has already skated in one game this year, though he’s still searching for his first point. Since joining the organization toward the end of the 2023-24 campaign, Legare has scored 22 goals and 33 points in 105 games with a -12 rating and 158 PIMs.

Devils Have Discussed Dougie Hamilton, Ondrej Palat In Trade Talks

at CDT | by 6 Comments

Yesterday morning, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported that the New Jersey Devils have included defenseman Dougie Hamilton and forward Ondřej Palát in trade talks. That falls in line with what Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman had said regarding the Devils’ pursuit of defenseman Quinn Hughes before he was ultimately traded to the Minnesota Wild on Friday.

Friedman didn’t offer any specifics like Weekes, though he had said that he believed New Jersey had a few cap-clearing trades vetoed. That was always going to be the difficulty in moving off of Hamilton or Palát, as both veterans have no-movement clauses and moderate trade protection throughout the rest of their respective contracts.

The Devils have put themselves into this situation. The Wild only added approximately $1MM in salary by acquiring Hughes, and without knowing New Jersey’s final offer, that would have been nearly impossible for them to absorb.

Assuming the Devils were willing to trade a player or two off their active roster, and somehow only lost $1MM in salary cap space by acquiring Hughes, they would have had around $200K remaining in flexibility. That would have made it impossible for New Jersey to recall extra depth to fill out their roster, and they would have had to continue the season with an incomplete 23-man roster.

Still, their pursuit of Hughes suggests that General Manager Tom Fitzgerald is eager to make a big move to help the Devils’ roster, even as they continue to stall out in the standings. Again devastated by injuries, New Jersey has fallen out of the playoff picture, going 3-7-0 in their last 10 contests.

It would make sense that if the Devils are adamant on acquiring a top-level talent, then they will continue trade negotiations regarding Hamilton and Palát. Each player has provided New Jersey with 10 teams they would accept a trade to.

Unfortunately, considering that it’ll be a cap-clearing trade with little returning to New Jersey, their options are limited. Although this list will grow leading up to the deadline, there are only 12 teams that could acquire Palát outright, and only nine for Hamilton.

Especially for the latter, the Devils will likely need to include a sweetener to the acquiring team. The 34-year-old winger has scored two goals and seven points in 33 games for the Devils this season, making it 28 goals and 66 points in his last 181 games. Factoring in his $6MM cap hit through next season, New Jersey may never be able to move off of his contract.

Hamilton, by comparison, has more value, but marginally. Hit by the same injury bug that much of the roster has sustained, Hamilton has only played in 57.3% of New Jersey’s games over the last three years. Still, by scoring 18 goals and 64 points over that stretch, he’s nearly matched Palát in offensive production over that stretch in approximately 70 fewer games.

Given the difficult hurdles to clear, the Devils may end the season with both players on their active roster. Depending on who becomes available closer to the deadline, New Jersey’s front office may feel that simply getting everyone back healthy will be enough pseudo additions to return to competitiveness. There’s definitely an argument for this approach, as the Devils started the year 16-8-1 through their first 25 games with a fairly healthy team.

Photo courtesy of John Jones-Imagn Images. 

Devils Not Planning On Making A GM Change

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

  • Amidst speculation about GM Tom Fitzgerald’s job security, NJ Advance Media’s Ryan Novozinsky reports that Fitzgerald has the full support of ownership and his job is not in jeopardy. There was some disappointment late last week when New Jersey wasn’t able to get a trade in place for Quinn Hughes while the team has struggled as of late, winning just six of 16 games since top center Jack Hughes suffered a hand injury.  But while Buffalo opted for a change in management today, don’t expect the Devils to be doing the same.

Devils Place Timo Meier On Non-Roster List, Recall Calen Addison

at CDT | by 2 Comments

According to a team announcement, the New Jersey Devils have placed forward Timo Meier on the non-roster list for personal leave/family health matter. New Jersey has recalled defenseman Calen Addison from the AHL’s Utica Comets in a corresponding roster move.

Factoring in the Devils’ announcement from a few days ago, when Meier initially took a personal leave of absence, it appears that he’s dealing with a family health matter. Unlike other designations, such as injured reserve or long-term injured reserve, there’s not a fixed amount of time that Meier has to miss before being eligible to return. Since no specifics have been provided, it is unclear how much time will be missed.

Like PHR’s Ethan Hetu said at the time, “the hockey implications are secondary in this sort of situation, it is important for us here at PHR to at least take a moment to break down the on-ice ripple effect of Meier’s absence.”

For however long Meier is absent from the lineup, and with center Jack Hughes rehabbing a freak hand injury, New Jersey will be without two of their first-line forwards for the time being. Hughes remains the team leader in points-per-game while Meier sits third on the team in scoring with 23 points in 30 games, being the Devils’ leading goal-scorer.

Their first game without the pair didn’t go well, though not because of any lack of offense. New Jersey suffered a blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning two nights ago, with Simon Nemec being one of three defensemen to earn a -2 rating.

He’s also the reason the Devils are replacing Meier with a defenseman on the active roster instead of a forward. According to James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now, Nemec injured himself a yesterday’s practice. There’s no timeline for his return aside from Nichols saying “he’s going to miss time.” It’s not expected to be a day-to-day injury.

Nemec, who’s off to a solid start this season, is leading the Devils in scoring among defensemen with seven goals and 18 points in 31 games. Now, without three of their top six scorers moving forward, New Jersey is likely to struggle to climb back into postseason positioning in the Eastern Conference. They’ve lost nine of their last 14 since Hughes exited the lineup.

If Addison plays, it’ll be his first NHL appearance since the 2023-24 campaign. The once 26-assist blue liner for the Minnesota Wild, Addison, is in his first year with the Devils organization, scoring two goals and nine points in 21 games for the AHL Comets.

Gritsyuk (Upper Body) Won't Play This Weekend

at CDT | by 4 Comments

  • The Devils announced (Twitter link) that winger Arseny Gritsyuk will miss both games this weekend due to an upper-body injury. The rookie later clarified on Telegram that he hasn’t fully been examined yet which suggests that a longer absence could be on the table.  Gritsyuk is in his first season in North America and has been a quality secondary scorer for New Jersey, posting seven goals and nine assists in 31 games, putting him in a tie for fifth in NHL rookie scoring.

New Jersey Devils Recall Xavier Parent

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The New Jersey Devils announced today that forward Xavier Parent has been recalled from the club’s AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets.

In a corresponding move, veteran forward Evgenii Dadonov, who has been out since Nov. 26 with an undisclosed injury, was placed on IR by the club. It was reported in late November that Dadonov was likely to miss an extended period of time with his injury.

The move to recall Parent gives the Devils an additional forward on its roster while Timo Meier is away from the club on a personal leave of absence. Meier’s absence leaves a hole in the Devils’ top six, specifically on the wing on the club’s first line alongside captain Nico Hischier.

On paper, it doesn’t appear Parent would be an ideal fit for such an important role, largely due to the fact that he remains a complete unknown quantity at the NHL level. The 24-year-old undrafted former QMJHL star has spent the entirety of his professional career to this point in the minor leagues, working his way up from the ECHL to, now, the NHL.

Parent began his pro career with the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder in 2022, marking his entry into the wider Devils organization. (The Thunder are the Devils’ ECHL affiliate) While ECHL clubs generally act with a good degree of independence when it comes to the day-to-day hockey operations decision-making, Parent’s first pro contract was actually a two-year AHL deal with the Utica Comets.

Since the Comets’ hockey operations are run by executives who work for the Devils, (Devils AGM Dan MacKinnon serves as Comets GM) while Parent may not have occupied an NHL contract spot to begin his career, he has nonetheless spent his entire time as a pro under the watchful eye of Devils management.

Parent instantly impressed, turning a point-per-game ECHL rookie campaign into a full-time role in the AHL the following year. As an AHL rookie, Parent scored 15 goals and 45 points, earning himself an AHL contract extension for 2024-25. Parent continued his top-six production into 2024-25, earning himself an NHL entry-level deal for 2025-26.

It’s that entry-level signing, as well as Parent’s continued production, that’s earned him this recall, the first of his pro career. As a five-foot-eight undrafted winger, Parent has always battled steep odds en route to this call-up. But with the Devils in need of additional scoring, Parent placed himself in prime position to be recalled by leading Utica in scoring this season.

While it’s unclear whether Parent’s scoring ability (he has 12 points in 20 games for the Comets this season) will translate to the NHL level, his recall marks a genuine developmental success story for the Devils.

While much of the commentary regarding the Devils’ work in the AHL has been negative this season (the Comets are third-to-last in the AHL standings and are tied for the fewest goals scored), today’s recall of Parent does illustrate that there are still some positive storylines to follow in Utica.

Timo Meier Taking Personal Leave Of Absence

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The New Jersey Devils announced today that forward Timo Meier is taking a personal leave of absence to tend to a family health matter.

As is customary in situations such as these, no further detail was provided nor was a timeline on Meier’s absence noted. That’s to be expected in situations like these, where the hockey, to be frank, becomes completely secondary to whatever is going on in the player’s off-ice life.

The Devils said in their statement “The entire organization supports Timo and his family and appreciates everyone respecting their privacy at this time.”

While, as mentioned, the hockey implications are secondary in this sort of situation, it is important for us here at PHR to at least take a moment to break down the on-ice ripple effect of Meier’s absence.

The core takeaway is that the Devils’ leading scorer on a points-per-game basis, Jack Hughes, remains out with an injury, so Meier’s leave of absence only further emphasizes the importance of the other key offensive players on the Devils. The unfortunate side effect of this development is that players such as Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Dawson Mercer, and rookie Arseni Gritsyuk now have an even greater level of importance to New Jersey’s efforts in terms of scoring goals.

Meier is in the midst of a strong offensive campaign, ranking third on the team in scoring with 11 goals and 23 points in 30 games. He’s a key power forward for the Devils, with at least 50 points in each campaign since arriving in New Jersey.

Meier is slotted in on the Devils’ first line alongside Hischier at the moment, but this development will mean head coach Sheldon Keefe will need to adjust his lineup. It’s possible veteran Ondrej Palat sees a promotion into Meier’s role while Meier is away from the team, or that Keefe elects to more substantially alter his lines beyond just promoting one player.

Again, while the hockey implications of this news might appear important, for the entire Devils organization, the hockey side of things is secondary to supporting Meier as he deals with this family health matter.

Canucks, Devils Reportedly Spoke Regarding Quinn Hughes

at CDT | by 14 Comments

During the Saturday Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada yesterday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Vancouver Canucks and New Jersey Devils have held talks related to the status of Canucks captain Quinn Hughes. Friedman said that while he does “not believe there is anything imminent” regarding Hughes, “a conversation was had” between the two clubs “about where things stand and where they might be going.”

Per The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, Hughes commented on Friedman’s report last night, saying “It’s not like me, [Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford] and [Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald] hopped on a call, I wasn’t a part of that.” He added: “But obviously I’m aware that things like that could happen.”

As the Canucks have struggled to build a team capable of making a serious push towards Stanley Cup contention, the future of Hughes in Vancouver has come under increased scrutiny. The 26-year-old is under contract through 2026-27, and has shied away from verbally committing his future to the only NHL franchise he’s ever known to this point.

Two months ago, Hughes appeared on the 32 Thoughts podcast and appeared non-committal about his future in Vancouver. Jack Hughes expressed strong interest in playing with his older brother at some point in his career, and Quinn, when asked about Jack’s comments, said that he’d “of course” be interested in at some point playing with his two brothers in the NHL.

While that doesn’t mean Quinn is necessarily eyeing the upcoming expiration of his contract as his chance to play with Jack and Luke Hughes, the expiration of his contract does pose a potentially existential threat to the Canucks’ competitive hopes. For what it’s worth, it appears the Canucks have been planning for at least the possibility that Hughes will want to continue his NHL career elsewhere.

Drance reported on Nov. 25 that it’s “been evident for a while is that Vancouver has already undergone some level of contingency planning with regard to Hughes, dating back to this offseason.” He added that the team’s reported interest in Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram and Anaheim Ducks blueliner Pavel Mintyukov may have been part of the club’s long-term planning for the possibility of a Hughes departure, even if their first priority remains signing Hughes to an extension.

The Canucks’ diligence in planning for all potential outcomes related to Hughes may have influenced their decision to reportedly speak to the Devils more recently.

Because of the fact that New Jersey currently has both of Hughes’ brothers under contract, and appear to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, they’ve been pointed to as the clear front-runner to secure Quinn’s services should he appear on the trade market or in unrestricted free agency.

If Hughes makes it clear he is unwilling to sign an extension in Vancouver, one would have to imagine that the club would aggressively pursue trading Hughes for the best possible return. Hughes is in the middle of his prime and is among the league’s top defensemen.

Even with an expiring contract next season, the Canucks would likely receive a massive return of assets in exchange for Hughes, assets that could jump-start the club’s push back towards real Stanley Cup contention.

Speaking to the Devils to at least touch base on things, as Friedman has reported the Canucks have done, then becomes a natural part of preparing for all potential outcomes. If the Canucks eventually do consider trading Hughes, the Devils would instantly become a key team in the race to acquire him, so to speak with the Devils now allows the Canucks to at least begin to lay the groundwork for any future trade talks that could be held.

While as Friedman appeared to note, it still appears to be too early for the Canucks to get into serious conversations about what a Hughes trade would look like, it’s not too early for them to feel out the landscape of what teams might be interested in Hughes, and how interested those teams might be.

Photos courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top