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UFA Notes: Allen, Schmidt, Ceci, Perry, Asplund

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The Devils are likely to go “down to the wire” on extension talks with goaltender Jake Allen before the market opens at 11 a.m. CT today, independent insider Frank Seravalli reports.

Allen was a spectacular backup option to Jacob Markström in his first full season in Jersey. There’s no surprise that they’ve expressed strong interest in retaining him, but they’ll likely have to commit significant financial resources to do so. He’s the clear top goalie available amid a weak market and could very well have multiple offers out there for three or more years with an AAV north of $5MM.

Would the Devils be willing to make him their highest-paid goaltender for a season? Markström has some salary retained by the Flames, so he only costs $4.125MM against the cap as he enters the final season of his contract. A multi-year commitment to the 34-year-old Allen might still be a good idea to help guard against a potential Markström departure next summer, especially with no true blue-chip prospects in the system.

Despite a 13-16-1 record, Allen put up better numbers than Markström last year in 20 fewer starts with a .906 SV% and 5.0 GSAA while tying him with four shutouts. He may decide to at least wait to test the market to see if a goalie-needy team like the Sharks, who also need to add nearly $20MM in cap hits next season to reach the floor, gives him an offer he can’t refuse.

Other notes of interest before the market opens:

  • While the Panthers have managed to get extensions done for Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand, and now depth forward Tomas Nosek in the last few days, the same won’t happen for defenseman Nate Schmidt. He’ll head elsewhere on the open market today after recouping some market value on a one-year deal with Florida following a buyout by the Jets, according to Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. Schmidt, 34 in July, had 19 points in 80 regular-season games but broke out for a 3-9–12 scoring line and a plus-nine rating in all 23 playoff games for the Cats.
  • Another UFA Florida will lose is depth forward Rasmus Asplund. Swiss National League club HC Davos announced they’ve signed him to a two-year contract. Asplund, 27, saw just six games of NHL action with Florida this year and instead spent most of the season with AHL Charlotte, where he had 20 goals and 43 points in 63 games.
  • With the Kings expecting to lose Vladislav Gavrikov in free agency today, they’ve shown interest in inking Cody Ceci on the open market to help recoup some defensive depth, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. A righty compared to Gavrikov’s left-shot, Ceci might be more of a direct replacement for the recently-traded Jordan Spence rather than Gavrikov. The 31-year-old had 24 points and a plus-six rating in 85 games last season between the Sharks and Stars while averaging 21:13 per game, his fourth straight season above the 20-minute mark.
  • The Flyers will make a play for veteran winger Corey Perry today, Friedman says. The 40-year-old may have priced himself out of a new deal with the Oilers following a renaissance postseason performance for Edmonton, ranking second on the team with 10 goals in 22 games.

Devils Continuing Negotiations With Jake Allen

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  • Following the trend of some of his peers from today, there’s no guarantee netminder Jake Allen will be available to other teams once unrestricted free agency opens tomorrow afternoon. Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports that Allen and the New Jersey Devils are negotiating a new contract, which may extend until just before the deadline. It seems unusual for the Devils to prioritize extending Allen, especially since they already have Jacob Markström in goal, and considering that Allen would demand a high price as the market’s top available goaltender.

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Devils Re-Sign McLaughlin

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  • The Devils have kept forward Marc McLaughlin away from Group Six unrestricted free agency. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the sides have agreed to a one-year, two-way contract that pays $775K in the NHL and $350K in the minors.  The 25-year-old got into 14 NHL games this season between Boston and New Jersey, picking up two goals and an assist.  In the minors, meanwhile, he had five goals and 14 assists in 48 games between their respective farm teams.

Devils Expected To Qualify Cody Glass

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June 30: New Jersey has changed its mind and will indeed grant Glass his $2.5MM qualifying offer, per PuckPedia.

June 21: Cody Glass proved to be a useful addition for the Devils down the stretch.  However, it appears that won’t be enough to keep him in the fold as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that New Jersey is not expected to tender a qualifying offer at the end of the month which would make him an unrestricted free agent in July.

The 26-year-old was the sixth overall pick back in 2017 but has not yet lived up to his draft billing and has bounced around the league a bit, seeing action with four different teams over his first six NHL seasons.

It looked like Glass was turning a corner with Nashville when he put up 35 points in 72 games in the 2022-23 season, earning himself a two-year, $5MM contract along the way.  But after his production slipped to just 13 points in 41 games the following year, the Preds shipped him with a pair of draft picks to Pittsburgh to open up some cap flexibility after their summer spending spree in free agency.

With the Penguins, Glass produced at a largely similar rate, tallying four goals and 11 assists in 51 games.  But with the Devils looking for some insurance down the middle heading into the playoffs, they moved prospects Chase Stillman and Max Graham along with a 2027 third-round pick for Glass and forward Jonathan Gruden.

The change of scenery seemed to get Glass going offensively as he picked up two goals and five assists in 14 games following the swap while seeing an uptick in playing time to 14:31 per game.  However, he was held off the scoresheet in their first-round playoff exit at the hands of Carolina.

To retain his RFA rights, the Devils would need to tender Glass a $2.5MM qualifying offer that would also carry salary arbitration rights.  While his career numbers of 35 goals and 58 assists in 252 games aren’t lofty by any stretch, there’s a chance that an arbitration would award a higher amount than that.  It appears that’s a risk New Jersey isn’t willing to take at this time.  While the two sides could discuss a cheaper deal than that beforehand (his agent told The Hockey News’ Kristy Flannery earlier this week there had been preliminary talks between the sides), it doesn’t look like that’s in the cards, meaning that Glass appears to be set to hit the open market less than two weeks from now.

Devils May Not Have Resources To Retain Cody Glass

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  • Friedman also discussed that while the New Jersey Devils have expressed interest in retaining pending restricted free agent Cody Glass, the team may not have the financial flexibility to do so. With several pending free agents—including Curtis Lazar, Brian Dumoulin, and Jake Allen—and a significant restricted free agent in Luke Hughes, Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald must be strategic in allocating the team’s $14.3 million in cap space (per PuckPedia). Glass spent last season between the Penguins and Devils and posted a combined six goals and 22 points in 65 games. The former sixth overall pick (and first in Golden Knights history), added a career-high 51.2 faceoff win percentage.

Goalie Jake Allen May Command $5MM Annually

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Pending free agent Jake Allen could be the top goalie available in this year’s free agent class, and he’s certainly approaching it as such. According to Anthony Di Marco of the Daily Faceoff, Allen is believed to be seeking a multi-year deal in the “$5MM AAV range.”

As Di Marco notes, Allen and the New Jersey Devils continue to discuss a potential extension ahead of free agency. However, it appears Allen is seeking at least a two-year deal and a large raise on his previous $3.85MM AAV deal. With the clock ticking and Allen set to be the top available goalie, the Devils will need to act quickly if they hope to retain him.

Allen, 34, is coming off a solid showing during the 2024-25 season. Despite his 13-16-1 record, Allen produced a .906 save percentage and 2.66 goals against average. His save percentage actually exceeded that of starter Jacob Markström, who posted a .900 mark, and the two goalies finished tied with four shutouts each, despite Markström starting 20 more games.

The Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun also recently made note of Allen’s strong position given the limited availability at the position in free agency. While Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald has expressed interest in re-signing last year’s backup, Allen is already drawing interest from other teams, with the Flyers, Oilers, and Sharks having been linked to the netminder.

While Allen was previously projected to land a two-year deal worth $3.5MM per season on the open market, according to AFP Analytics, both the term and annual value could exceed those expectations as teams scramble to secure his services. With this in mind, it will be interesting to see where Allen ends up next season. With the Devils holding just over $14MM in cap space (per PuckPedia), they may not be inclined to sign Allen for an AAV much higher than his last deal.

If the Devils are unable to come to an agreement with Allen, they could look to pair Markström with Nico Daws next season. While the 24-year-old Daws only appeared in six contests last season with the Devils, he impressed with a .939 save percentage.

AHL Notes: Pitlick, Gibson, Utica

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The Oilers’ AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, announced Wednesday they’ve signed forwards Rem Pitlick and Rhett Pitlick to one-year and two-year contracts, respectively. Both are still free agents in the NHL’s eyes, but will have a secure playing role in the pros in Edmonton’s system next season.

Rem, 28, is the older of the two brothers and has the NHL experience to show for it. He’s produced quite well in limited minutes when given the chance but has never found a stable home, suiting up for the Predators, Canadiens, Wild, and Blackhawks in parts of five seasons from 2018-19 to 2023-24. He’s managed a 21-33–54 scoring line in 132 career games, but despite that solid production, he didn’t land an NHL contract for 2024-25. He didn’t sign anywhere until February, when he inked an AHL contract with the Sharks’ affiliate. He finished the year with two goals and 13 points in 18 games, a diminished output from the point-per-game rate he’s hovered around in the minors over the past few years.

He’s joined by his younger brother, Rhett. The 24-year-old was a fifth-round pick by the Canadiens in 2019, but they relinquished his signing rights last offseason. Instead of turning pro following three years at the University of Minnesota, he transferred to Minnesota State for his senior season. He led the Mavericks with 27 assists, 40 points, and a +32 rating in 39 games en route to a CCHA regular-season and tournament championship. He was also named to the conference’s First All-Star Team and was dubbed CCHA Forward of the Year. He finished the season on a tryout with Bakersfield, notching six assists in six games with a plus-eight rating. Both are strong candidates to get NHL contracts from the Oilers at some point next season if they perform well and move up their list of potential call-ups.

Other notable news out of the AHL:

  • It’s unclear if the Capitals plan on issuing a qualifying offer to pending RFA goalie Mitchell Gibson, but the depth netminder will be staying in the organization next season regardless. He’s agreed to a one-year contract with the Hershey Bears, per a club announcement. Gibson, 26, was a fourth-round pick by the Caps in 2018 and turned pro in 2023 following four seasons at Harvard. He’s spent the vast majority of his pro career down a level with ECHL South Carolina but has made three appearances for the Bears in the past two years, recording a 1.95 GAA and .920 SV% in the process. He also did quite well in limited ECHL action this past season with a .933 SV% and 1.75 GAA in 14 games for the Stingrays. That may be enough to land him a full-time AHL job as a backup with Hershey in 2025-26 without taking up a contract slot on Washington’s books, particularly if the club doesn’t plan on re-signing UFA Hunter Shepard.
  • The Devils announced that the coaching staff for their affiliate, the Utica Comets, is set in stone for next season. Ryan Parent will stay on as head coach after taking over for Kevin Dineen on an interim basis early last year. They had a 31-33-6-2 record after the coaching change following a 0-8-1 start under Dineen. The club also promoted player development coach Mark Voakes to an assistant role under Parent and hired former NHL defenseman Matt Carkner as his other assistant. Utica’s goaltending coach, Brian Eklund, remains in his post.

Devils Looking To Add Impact Scoring

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The Devils were among a myriad of teams interested in signing Jonathan Toews, and GM Tom Fitzgerald is still in the market for top-six forwards, per The Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun. Lebrun notes that Fitzgerald may be monitoring situations like the one Jason Robertson is currently facing with the Dallas Stars, and added, “Fitzgerald has been active fleshing out the forward market.” While Toews recently agreed to a one-year deal with the Winnipeg Jets, Robertson has been rumored to be available via trade.

While the Devils are led by young stars like Jesper Bratt, Jack Hughes, and Nico Hischier, they were the only players on the team to record more than 55 points last season. The Devils finished 20th in the league last season with 240 goals in the regular season and managed just 11 goals over five playoff games before being eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes. If they hope to contend with the Eastern Conference’s top teams, they’ll need to boost their offensive production.

  • Lebrun also notes that Devils’ pending unrestricted free agent goalie Jake Allen is in a strong position, given the limited depth available at the position in this year’s free agency market. As LeBrun notes, Allen led all soon-to-be free agent goalies with a .906 save percentage last season. While Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald has expressed interest in re-signing last year’s backup, Allen is expected to draw substantial interest on the open market. Notably, the Flyers, Oilers, and Sharks have already been linked to Allen.
  • Jacques Lemaire, who has been serving as the New York Islanders’ special assignments coach since 2018, is no longer with the organization, per NHL.com reporter Stefen Rosner. His departure from the Isles makes sense considering he was brought to the team by former GM Lou Lamoriello. Lemaire, 79, enjoyed a Hall of Fame playing career, recording 835 points in 853 NHL games. In 2017, he was named to the league’s “100 Greatest Players” list. He later transitioned to coaching, serving as an NHL head coach for 17 seasons, most notably leading the Devils to a Stanley Cup title in the 1994-95 season.

Flyers, Oilers, Sharks Linked To Jake Allen

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The Flyers, Oilers, and Sharks are among the most likely destinations for pending UFA netminder Jake Allen if he reaches the open market next week, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.

Allen reaching UFA status on July 1 seems likely at this stage. The 34-year-old is coming off a strong season as the No. 2 to Jacob Markström in New Jersey. He’s due to command a larger chunk of cash than he usually would otherwise because of a UFA class devoid of starting options. It’s not a guarantee, though. Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said earlier this month he’d make an effort to have Allen back in the fold next season and that there was some mutual interest in an extension.

Things have been quiet since then. Allen projects to land a two-year deal worth $3.5MM per season on the open market, according to AFP Analytics. With Markström likely to still receive the lion’s share of the starts as he enters the final year of his contract and the club looking to leverage its cap space to add to its forward group and get a long-term deal done for RFA defenseman Luke Hughes, that’s likely more than they’re willing to pay to keep him. They might be able to bring him back at a lower cap impact if they extend him a longer contract offer. Still, given his age and the fact that they have internal options like Nico Daws set to play next season on a one-way deal, it’s unclear if they’d be willing to offer him a three or four-year contract to bring the cap hit back down to the $2MM range.

That means Allen could be looking elsewhere for teams in a position to compensate him more up front and give him more than the 29 starts he received in New Jersey this past season. He doesn’t have a particularly lengthy resume as a starting or even 1A option, and he’s only hit the 40-game mark in a season once since 2019. Nonetheless, he played quite well in a 30-game slate last year behind much shoddier defense compared to how the Devils played in front of Markström. His .906 SV% and 2.66 GAA are above-average in their own right but translated to a far more raucous 18.4 goals saved above expected, according to MoneyPuck. That ranked ninth in the league and was more than names with more starts like Filip Gustavsson, Ilya Sorokin, and Joseph Woll.

He’s a good option to challenge an unestablished younger tandem option for the lion’s share of starts as a result, especially on the short-term commitment he’s expected to command. That makes all of Philadelphia, Edmonton, and San Jose logical fits. The Flyers arguably have the largest need for him. While they have Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov under contract through next season, they were both fringe NHL options at best in 2024-25. Ersson was arguably the worst starter in the league, logging a .883 SV% behind a relatively competent Flyers defense that kept his GAA down to 3.14. While he’s recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons and may still have upside as a backup or 1B option, it’s hard to imagine the Flyers making any reasonable progress in their rebuild if he starts 40-plus games again in 2025-26 based on his underwhelming two years as a starter. Fedotov, while expensive at over $3MM against the cap, could be a candidate for waivers or a loan back to Russia after struggling to the tune of a .880 SV% and -13.6 GSAx in only 26 showings this year.

The Oilers’ need for a goaltending upgrade after Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard combined for a .888 SV% in the playoffs and a .897 mark in the regular season has become painfully apparent. If they’re unwilling or unable to leverage Skinner’s value how they see fit in a trade for a bona fide starting option – a highly unlikely outcome – they’ll likely look to land a modest return for the cost-effective Pickard while acquiring an option with a more recent consistent track record to take pressure off Skinner to be the clear-cut No. 1. They could find that in Allen. At his projected cap hit, they’d still be devoting just $6.1MM to their goaltending tandem, and seeing if Skinner can produce better numbers in a more limited workload will be valuable in helping them determine how aggressively to pursue extension talks for the 2026 UFA.

With Alexandar Georgiev out of the picture, one of the Sharks’ top offseason needs is a veteran goaltender to pair with top prospect Yaroslav Askarov as he graduates to a full-time NHL role for 2025-26. Allen would be the best available stopgap option as Askarov shifts from what will likely be a 40-game workload out of the gate to a 60-game one in a few years’ time. Swapping Allen’s play for Georgiev’s subpar .875 SV% and 3.88 GAA last season is likely enough on its own to vault the Sharks’ record back toward the 70-point range after averaging 53 standings points over the last three seasons amid the darkest years of their rebuild.

Predators Acquire Erik Haula From Devils

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The New Jersey Devils have traded winger Erik Haula to the Nashville Predators in exchange for defense prospect Jeremy Hanzel and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

In largely a surprise move, Nashville will take the stride to become just a bit older – and shore up their center depth in the process. They’ll do it with a familiar name, returning Haula to Tennessee four years after he spent the shortened 2020-21 season with the club. They were one of many clubs he stopped at for a year-or-less as part of a three-year journey across the NHL. That wandering came to an end when Haula was traded from the Boston Bruins to the Devils in exchange for Pavel Zacha in July 2022.

Haula was coming off a great year in the 2021-22 campaign, when he scored 44 points in 78 games. He continued to look sharp in his first year with the Devils, netting 41 points in 80 games while operating down the team’s lineup. His depth scoring was exactly what New Jersey needed behind Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, though Haula fell to just one point in five games of the Devils’ run to the second-round.

His slide in scoring continued through the last two seasons. He scored 16 goals and 35 points in 76 games last season, then dropped to 11 goals and 21 points in 69 games this year. He was hindered by day-to-day injuries in 2023-24, and an ankle sprain earlier this year.

Haula has fallen firmly into the rut of depth scorer late in his career. He was once a hot shooter for the Vegas Golden Knights, and managed a career-season in the club’s inaugural season. Haula scored 29 goals and 55 points that year, but again slid to just nine points in 20 postseason games. Throughout his career, he’s tallied up 153 goals and 337 points in 759 games. He’s also averaged an 11.5 shooting percentage. Nashville has had a knack for adding shooters to their lineup in recent years, and will find another for a cheap price in this move.

On the other side, the 22-year-old Hanzel will make yet another move before even playing in his first NHL game. The Predators previously acquired Hanzel alongside a 2025 third-round pick in the 2024 move that sent Yakov Trenin and Graham Sward to the Colorado Avalanche. Hanzel played in his first pro season in the Predators’ organization this year. Much of it was spent in the ECHL, where he totaled 22 points and a minus-24 through 61 games. Hanzel spent the four seasons prior playing with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, where he carved out a top-pair role and supported a 2023 championship run despite never scoring at-or-above point-per-game pace. He is a stocky, physical defender who is still adjusting in his ability to use size and strength against pro opponents. As those traits come along, Hanzel’s standing in the New Jersey pipeline could improve.

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