AHL Notes: Pitlick, Gibson, Utica
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
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
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
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.
Devils Sign Juho Lammikko
The Devils signed center Juho Lammikko to a one-way deal worth $800K, PuckPedia reports. He’ll look to win out a roster spot in training camp and avoid waivers and a subsequent assignment to AHL Utica, although the one-way deal stipulates that it won’t affect him financially if it happens.
Lammikko, 29, has three years and 159 games of NHL experience. The left-shot pivot was a third-round pick of the Panthers back in 2014 and made his NHL debut four years later. He made 40 appearances for the Cats in the 2018-19 season, registering six assists and a minus-seven rating, before returning to Europe when his entry-level contract expired. However, Florida retained his signing rights with a qualifying offer, so when he decided he was ready to return stateside after a year and a half abroad in Finland and Russia, he returned to the Panthers for the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season.
While Lammikko managed a full-time roster spot, something he never held during his first stint in the Panthers organization, his production and role were identical to his rookie campaign. He scored his first four NHL goals but added only one assist for five points in 44 games, posting a minus-eight rating and averaging 10:50 per game. While he didn’t generate any meaningful offense in Florida, he did have some solid possession impacts at even strength, considering he was deployed as a defensive specialist.
After Lammikko re-signed with Florida on a league-minimum, one-way contract for the 2021-22 season, he failed to win a regular spot in the lineup in training camp. As a result, was traded to the Canucks along with Noah Juulsen in exchange for former top defense prospect Olli Juolevi at the beginning of the regular season. It was in British Columbia that Lammikko showed more legitimate upside as a bottom-six checking center. He upped his offensive production with a 7-8–15 scoring line in 75 games, a slight per-game increase even with the increased workload, and saw his ice time jump to the 12-minute range per game. The Finnish pivot also won 51.0% of his faceoffs after finishing at 42.8% and 44.9% in his two prior seasons with Florida. He also finished fourth among Vancouver forwards with 93 hits.
Nonetheless, that wasn’t enough for the Canucks to issue Lammikko a qualifying offer following his career-best campaign. After not pursuing or receiving NHL offers, Lammikko returned to Europe with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League. He’s been with ZSC ever since, bringing him some much-desired stability and allowing him to re-emerge as an offensive threat. He potted a 48-64–112 scoring line and a +60 rating in 144 games across the last three years, yielding back-to-back NL championships – he even scored the title-clinching goal in ZSC’s 2024 win. Lammikko is also 11th in NL scoring over the last three seasons.
He’ll now head to Jersey in an attempt to win out a bottom-six spot next year. It’s exceedingly rare for a player to make a jump to the NHL after his first two stints didn’t pan out, but he’s nonetheless hoping the third time is the charm. Bottom-six depth was an easily identifiable area of need for the Devils entering the summer, who have more than a few pending unrestricted free agents at the position and need insurance options in case candidates for internal promotion like Nolan Foote and Nathan Legare don’t work out.
Free Agent Focus: New Jersey Devils
Free agency is now under a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Devils.
Key Restricted Free Agents
D Luke Hughes – Hughes is one of the top pending restricted free agents in the NHL, and the expectation is that the organization will do everything it can to lock up the defender before he reaches free agency. However, with just a projected $12MM in cap space, Hughes is expected to command a significant portion of that figure. In 71 games on the year, the 21-year-old essentially mirrored his rookie season production with seven goals and 44 points. New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald recently discussed the team’s urgency to resign Hughes, stating, “We’re just trying to figure out what’s best for Luke and for us and how do we make our team better with the funds that we have available… Both parties are in agreement… We’re going to get this done.” Now, the key questions are when the deal will be finalized and what the annual price tag will look like.
F Cody Glass – After bouncing around the league the last several years, Glass is hoping to have found a home in New Jersey. After being acquired from division rival Penguins in a trade deadline move, Glass contributed seven points in 14 regular-season games for the Devils. However, he provided zero points in five playoff games. At just 25 years old, Glass brings a pedigree the Devils may be eager to develop further, especially given the affordable price tag he’s expected to carry. In 253 games, Glass has posted 35 goals and 93 points.
Other RFAs: F Nolan Foote, D Santeri Hatakka, G Isaac Poulter
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D Brian Dumoulin – A veteran of over 700 NHL games, Dumoulin brought a steady, reliable presence to the Devils’ blue line following his arrival at the trade deadline. The two-time Stanley Cup champion may be past his prime, but Dumoulin can still provide a team with veteran leadership in a second- or third-pairing role. That said, ‘Dumo’ has plenty of mileage on his body — he surpassed the 1,000 blocked shots mark this past season — which could make a team with limited cap space hesitant to offer a multi-year deal to an aging blueliner.
G Jake Allen – While the optics of a 13-16-1 record don’t look great for Allen, they don’t tell the whole story of his season. Serving as the backup to starter Jacob Markstrom, Allen posted a respectable .906 save percentage, slightly better than Markstrom’s .900 mark. Allen recorded four shutouts on the season and posted a 2.66 goals-against average, reinforcing his value as one of the league’s more dependable backup goaltenders. However, with Allen turning 35 next season and Nico Daws waiting in the wings, his services may no longer be needed in New Jersey. While Allen recently noted his preference would be to stay in New Jersey, he will command quite a bit of interest on the open market.
F Curtis Lazar – With five forwards set to earn $6 million or more next season, the Devils will need to find low-cost options to fill out their bottom six. That’s where a reunion with someone like Lazar may make sense for the team. Lazar had a tough season in 2024-25, posting just five points in 48 games. However, he’s just one year removed from a career-best 25 points and a plus-10 rating in his first season with New Jersey. His expiring contract carried a modest $1 million cap hit, and that number is likely to stay in the same range. If the Devils are looking for a low-cost, veteran presence, bringing Lazar or Nathan Bastian back into the fold could work well.
Other UFAs: F Justin Dowling, F Daniel Sprong, F Nathan Bastian, F Maxwell Willman, F Samuel Laberge, F Marc McLaughlin (UFA-Group6), D Dennis Cholowski, D Tory Dello
Projected Cap Space
The Devils don’t have much wiggle room this offseason. According to PuckPedia, the team has just over $12 million available for free agency, and if a deal with Hughes gets done, that amount will be significantly reduced. Unless Fitzgerald and the front office trade away one of their current high-paid players, they’ll have to get creative to fill out the depth on the squad. They may also lean toward giving more opportunities to promising young players, like the aforementioned Daws, who won’t take up much cap space.
Devils Notes: Allen, Trades, Hischier
New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald laid out many of the team’s off-season priorities to NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. He emphasized that re-signing defenseman Luke Hughes was a top priority, but then went on to add that the Devils will also make an effort to bring back backup goaltender Jake Allen. Fitzgerald said that Allen was one of the better goaltenders on the market, and that Allen’s camp has expressed a desire to stay in New Jersey.
Allen, 34, is coming off a two-year, $7.7MM contract signed with New Jersey in 2023. He was certainly a stout backup on that deal, landing a .904 save percentage and 19-22-2 record across 44 games. The bulk of those appearances – 31 to be exact – came behind Jacob Markstrom this season. Allen posted a 13-16-1 record and .908 save percentage on the year, but came up big for the Devils one more than one occasion. He’s a one-time Stanley Cup champion, and could be had for a cheap price on a deal that may carry him to retirement.
Other notes surrounding the Devils:
- The Devils are entering the summer with just $12MM in available cap space, and could reason to spend nearly two-thirds of that on extending Hughes. That puts the team in a challenging spot when it comes to re-signing someone like Allen or Cody Glass. Fitzgerald shared he’s aware of the bind, and knows that the team will need to use strategic spending and trades to improve up the roster. The Devils don’t wield a first-round pick this year, but do have two second-round picks, and a well-built prospect pool. Trimming from either surplus could go far in landing New Jersey a stout addition, or helping them clear the cap space to make more moves.
- Fitzgerald closed by shedding light on Devils captain Nico Hischier, who suffered a lower-body injury while at the World Championship. The GM said that Hischier’s removal from the tournament was precautionary, and that Hischier is back to training per usual. That’s great news for the 26-year-old, who posted 69 points in 75 games on the season. He also scored a career-high 35 goals, trumping his previous high of 31 goals from 2022-23. With good health, Hischier will be headed straight back to a starring role next season.
Re-Signing Luke Hughes Top Priority For Devils Off-Season
New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald sat down with NHL.com’s Mike Morreale to go over the team’s priorities for the off-season. Top of conversation was star defenseman Luke Hughes, who is currently set to become a restricted free-agent on July 1st. Fitzgerald emphasized that re-signing Hughes before that deadline is a top priority, and that the two parties have already engaged in conversations around a new deal.
The GM pointed out the team’s minimal salary cap space – just over $12MM with nine pending free agents – but he ensured that Hughes would get the priority signing. Fitzgerald told Morreale:
We’re just trying to figure out what’s best for Luke and for us and how do we make our team better with the funds that we have available… Both parties are in agreement… We’re going to get this done.
Fitzgerald’s emphasis sheds some assurance on the biggest storyline shadowing the Devils’ off-season. Hughes took on a major role in the Devils’ blue-line this season, playing opposite of 10-year NHL veteran Brett Pesce and averaging 21 minutes of ice time a game. He handled the role well, recording 37 assists, 44 points, and a minus-nine through 71 games. That mark put him on pace for 42 assists and 50 points across a full 82 games, though injuries at the start of the season forced him out of 10 appearances. Still, Hughes – still just two years into his career – was able to become the first Devils’ defenseman to record consecutive 30-assist seasons since Brian Rafalski between 2005 and 2007.
It was a fantastic follow-up to Hughes’ already-strong rookie performance. He improved across the board, and even grew his plus-minus from a minus-25 to a minus-nine. He still has layers to add to his game and a clear need for more strength in the defensive zone – but all signs point towards the Devils having a star on their hands. His career 0.60 point-per-game scoring pace is the sixth-highest from a U22 defenseman since 2000 – ranked behind Cale Makar (0.88), Lane Hutson (0.81), Quinn Hughes (0.75), Erik Karlsson (0.69), and Dion Phaneuf (0.61).
It seems Fitzgerald is ready to reward Hughes’ promising upside this summer. He is projected to sign a long-term deal with a price tag north of $9MM by CapWages. That mark would eat up two-thirds of New Jersey’s available budget for the summer, and make it harder to re-sign even two of their nine free agents. Notable names like Cody Glass, and Jake Allen are each on expired contracts. Finding the space to bring them back could push New Jersey back to the trade market as the league heats up ahead of July 1st.
Offseason Checklist: New Jersey Devils
The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus those already eliminated through the first couple of rounds. Accordingly, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at New Jersey.
Over the first half of the season, the Devils looked like a potential contender before injuries to several key players dropped them in the standings. While they managed to hold onto a playoff spot, they were eliminated quickly by Carolina. While GM Tom Fitzgerald has suggested he’d like to take some big swings this summer, this checklist is if they opt to take a more measured approach if those bigger moves don’t pan out.
Look For Center Help
This was an area that the Devils were believed to be looking into during the season but once Jack Hughes went down with his shoulder injury that required surgery right before the trade deadline, those plans were understandably shelved. After all, when you’re missing multiple key pieces, pushing in some prominent trade chips for short-term help might not be the best way to go.
Between Hughes and Nico Hischier, New Jersey’s top two middlemen are in place for at least a couple more years until Hischier’s deal comes to an end; Hughes is signed through 2030 so he’s around for a while yet. After that, things get a bit murkier.
The hope was that Erik Haula would be the right fit for the third line but while he started off pretty well in his tenure with the Devils three seasons ago, this was a particularly rough year for him. His point-per-game average dropped to the lowest it has been (0.30) since his sophomore year back in 2013-14 when he spent a lot of time on Minnesota’s fourth line as he was getting acclimated to the NHL. He has one year left on his deal at a $3.15MM price tag and is the type of player who could plausibly be added to a trade to help match money. Alternatively, if they were to add another center and keep Haula, he’d fit in well on the left wing, a position he has plenty of experience at.
Another internal option that has run hot or cold is Dawson Mercer. After putting up 56 points in his sophomore year, he has managed just 33 and 36 the last two seasons. Meanwhile, he hasn’t fared particularly well when asked to play down the middle. He has two years left on his deal at a $4MM cap charge and he’ll still be RFA-eligible at its expiration. Not surprisingly, he could be someone that Fitzgerald is open to moving to shake up his roster. In terms of being a solution at the 3C spot, he’s probably only a stopgap one whenever injuries arise. If he and Haula aren’t deemed ideal for the role, they’ll have to look externally. They may not have much to spend on it, however, as we’ll get into over the next couple of sections.
Before moving on, it’s also worth noting that Curtis Lazar, who has often anchored the fourth line when healthy in recent years, is also an unrestricted free agent. So too is Justin Dowling who spent a lot of time with the Devils this season. Paul Cotter has played a few games down the middle over his career but is a better fit on the wing so this is another spot they’ll need to fill this offseason.
Re-Sign The Other Hughes
While one Hughes brother is signed for several more years, the other isn’t. Defenseman Luke Hughes will be a restricted free agent this summer after completing the first year of his entry-level contract. While he won’t be eligible for an offer sheet (he didn’t play enough to accrue a season in the first year of his deal), he’s still going to be in line for a significant raise after putting up 91 points in 153 games over the last two seasons, especially with the big jump coming to the salary cap.
Before getting into the bridge versus long-term debate, this is a good time to mention their cap situation. Per PuckPedia, the Devils have roughly $12MM in cap space at their disposal with a few forward spots to fill (including those center positions), a new deal for Hughes, and one other possible opening in the next section. On top of that, they likely want to leave themselves some in-season wiggle room so not all of that may be spendable.
While there’s enough of a track record to make a long-term deal feasible, New Jersey’s cap situation might dictate they go with a short-term pact, allowing for some extra flexibility, especially if Fitzgerald is able to make a big swing or two as he’s hoping for. Notably, Hughes has five years of club control remaining, giving them a few more options on a short-term agreement as a bridge deal could conceivably be four years long with him still being restricted at the end of it. A two-year agreement could land around the $5MM range while a four-year pact likely could push past $6MM per season.
On the flip side, Hughes could be viewed as the top priority of the offseason which could allow the two sides to work out a longer-term pact up to the maximum of eight years. There are recent comparables to work with in Owen Power (seven years, $8.35MM per season) and Brock Faber (eight years, $8.5MM per season) although those were obviously signed before the projection of a faster-escalating cap came into play. But New Jersey should know that if they want to go long-term with Hughes, the price tag likely starts with an eight.
With no arbitration or offer sheet rights, this is one of those cases that could linger toward training camp. But with the Devils needing to know what money they have available to fill their other holes on the roster, this is something that they’re going to want to get done sooner than later.
Look For Goalie Insurance
Starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom has just one year left on his contract before being eligible for unrestricted free agency. Jake Allen is set to hit the open market this summer and profiles as one of the top netminders available in a particularly thin class. This season, their goaltending position was one of strength but it’s already looking a little shallower.
Yes, Nico Daws is already under contract at a cap hit that’s less than $40K above the league minimum. While that’s ideal from a cap standpoint, he’s coming off a particularly rough year with AHL Utica that saw him put up a 3.16 GAA and a .893 SV% in 34 games. Meanwhile, while he fared much better in six NHL games, his career numbers in 54 outings aren’t the strongest. It’s possible that the plan is to give him a shot at being the full-time backup and if that’s the case, they’re going to want some insurance, either as someone who could battle with Daws for the number two spot or come up if he struggles.
Alternatively, they could look for a more proven second option with an eye on starting Daws in the minors again, pending waiver clearance. Markstrom’s former Calgary teammate Daniel Vladar could be an option, as could Ilya Samsonov if he leaves Vegas. Allen realistically shouldn’t be ruled out either after a relatively solid first full season with them. Of course, those options cost more and would cut into what they can spend for help down the middle or when working out a deal with Hughes. Some of those players might require more than one year which would at least give them one proven option under contract beyond 2025-26 as well.
Utilize Defensive Depth
New Jersey has put together a solid defensive group with two promising youngsters behind them in Simon Nemec and Seamus Casey. As things stand, they have more than $27MM committed to their blueliners, a cost that’s only going to go up considerably once Hughes signs. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that their back end will be the most expensive in the league, costing more than 35% of the salary cap in the process.
Once Hughes signs, their lowest-paid defenders will be Jonas Siegenthaler ($3.4MM) along with Johnathan Kovacevic and Brenden Dillon ($4MM apiece). Individually, these aren’t bad value contracts but with that much tied up in their top six and Nemec and Casey in the wings, there’s a case to be made that they might be better off dealing from their surplus of veterans, a move that would open up a spot for one of the youngsters and potentially some additional cap flexibility.
The challenge here revolves around handedness and it’s not necessarily the normal one. Both youngsters are right-shot players as are veterans Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, and Kovacevic. At a $9MM price tag for three more years, Hamilton will be difficult to move, at least without considerable retention. Pesce just signed last summer and has a full no-trade clause while Kovacevic only signed his extension less than three months ago so he’s probably safe as well.
Speculatively, Siegenthaler would be the likeliest to move if the Devils do deal from their depth. Being the cheapest player helps but he has primarily played top-four minutes over the last four years and with three years left on a reasonable contract, he would yield a solid return. That would put them in a rare spot of having more right-shot options than lefties but that would help open up some options for Fitzgerald to try to make a splash this summer.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.
Metropolitan Notes: Penguins Coaching, Roest, Kuokkanen
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ coaching search continues to headline news out of the Metropolitan Division, as the squad seeks out their first change at head coach in the last decade. Their final rounds of interviews have led to two candidates emerging above the rest – Washington Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love, and former Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.
Love has been behind the Capitals’ bench for the last two seasons, after spending the two years prior serving as the head coach of Calgary’s AHL squad. Love worked in the WHL and Canada’s U17 and U18 squads for the better half of the 2010’s. He supported Team Canada’s Gold Medal wins at the 2016 U17 World Hockey Championship, 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and 2020 World Junior Championship. He also won the AHL’s ‘Coach of the Year’ award in both of his two years in the league – 2021-22 and 2022-23. The past two years in Washington have marked Love’s first in the NHL in any capacity, and a move to head coach would mark a quick reward after he supported Pittsburgh’s rival to a second-round exit this season.
Smith sits as an interesting option opposite of Love. He has spent the last season-and-a-half in an assistant or associate coach role with the Los Angeles Kings, who hired him on the same day that he was fired from the Senators’ head coaching role in 2023. Smith posted a combined 131-154-32 record in just over four years with the Senators. He also has six years of experience as an NHL assistant coach, spread between tenures with the Toronto Maple Leafs and L.A. Kings. He’d be a hotly debated addition, though offers a much hardier pro coaching resume than Love.
Other notes from the Metro Division:
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have parted ways with assistant general manager and AHL general manager Stacy Roest, per Ashley Wenskoski of CNY Central. Roest was a colleague of freshly-hired New York Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche during their shared time in Tampa Bay, and could be a candidate to join their front office. Roest has been with the Tampa Bay organization since the 2013-14 season, when he joined on as a Director of Player Development and AHL assistant coach. He was promoted to AHL GM in the 2019-20 season. Roest also played in 244 career games in the NHL, split between tenures with the Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild. He ended his career with nine years in Switzerland’s National League, which allowed him to support Team Canada at six separate Spengler Cups.
- Former Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils centerman Janne Kuokkanen has extended his tenure overseas. He has signed a four-year contract with the SHL’s Malmo Redhawks. Kuokkanen played one season with Malmo in 2023-24 – scoring 44 points in 43 games – but opted to move to the National League for this season. He’ll reverse that decision one season later, after netting just 25 points in 35 games with Lausanne HC. Kuokkanen was a second-round selection in the 2016 NHL Draft and played in 119 NHL games split between the Hurricanes and Devils. He scored 14 goals and 42 points in those appearances.