Dougie Hamilton To Miss The Rest Of The Regular Season
New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald told the Krackin’ Canuckleheads podcast that defenseman Dougie Hamilton’s regular season is over, and the team isn’t expecting to get him back until the second round of the playoffs. Fitzgerald added that he would have to double-check his math on that, but the team had no plans for him to return in the regular season. Fitzgerald spoke in a press conference after the NHL Trade Deadline last week and said that the 31-year-old would miss, “an extended period of time,” after he suffered a lower body injury back on March 4th against the Dallas Stars. With Fitzgerald’s comments yesterday, it does appear that the team has some clarity on just how much time his recovery will take.
Hamilton is dealing with an undisclosed injury that looks to be a leg injury given the nature in which he left the ice against the Stars. Hamilton collided with Stars forward Mason Marchment and limped his way back to the bench. He remained on New Jersey’s bench for a bit, but eventually headed back to the locker room and did not return.
It’s the second year in a row that Hamilton will miss an extended length of time after he missed most of last season due to injury. Hamilton played just 20 games a season ago and was in the midst of a bounce back year, registering nine goals and 31 assists in 63 games this season, while playing nearly 20 minutes per game.
New Jersey is going through it right now when it comes to injuries. The team has already lost forward Jack Hughes as well as defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler for the rest of the regular season. It pales in comparison to last year’s injury bug, but it is more devastating given that New Jersey was one of the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference.
The team did make some additions at the Trade Deadline, in hopes of patching the holes opened up by injury, acquiring forward Cody Glass as well as defenseman Brian Dumoulin. However, they did not come close to replacing the offense lost with Hamilton and Hughes now on the shelf.
Fitzgerald Working On Signing Gritsyuk
- Speaking to reporters yesterday at his post-deadline press conference, Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald told reporters including James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now that he’s actively trying to sign Russian forward Arseni Gritsyuk. The 23-year-old was a fifth-round pick in 2019 but has become a productive forward in the KHL, notching 38 points in 45 games this season while also missing time due to a knee injury. His deal expires on June 1st but if his club team – SKA St. Petersburg – were to release him before then at the conclusion of their regular season and playoffs, he’d be free to sign with New Jersey before then. If that were to happen early enough, Gritsyuk could conceivably burn a year of his contract right away and potentially suit up in the playoffs for the Devils.
Devils Recall Daniel Sprong, Assign Seamus Casey To AHL
The Devils have done some roster shuffling in advance of their game on Sunday against Philadelphia. The team announced that they’ve recalled recently-acquired winger Daniel Sprong from AHL Utica while they’ve also assigned defenseman Seamus Casey to Utica.
Sprong is joining his third NHL team of the season. He started with Vancouver after inking a one-year, $975K contract over the summer but after struggling in limited action to start the season, he was flipped to Seattle in November for future considerations. Things weren’t much better there either and in early January, he passed through waivers unclaimed and had been in the minors since.
On the season, the 27-year-old has two goals and three assists in 19 NHL outings while averaging just over 12 minutes a night. Sprong has been much more productive in the minors, however, tallying 11 goals and 14 assists in 19 games with AHL Coachella Valley. New Jersey will now get to see if that can translate to being more of a contributor for them down the stretch.
As for Casey, the team’s release indicates that his demotion came before Friday’s trade deadline, keeping him eligible to play down the stretch for the Comets. He has played in 10 games with the Devils this season and has been productive in limited minutes, notching four goals and an assist in a little under 12 minutes a night of playing time. He also has 15 points in 22 appearances with Utica and should go back to playing a prominent role for them for their stretch run as they look to try to make a late run to sneak into a playoff spot in the North Division.
Jonas Siegenthaler Out For Rest Of Regular Season
It’s going to be a while before the Devils get some help on the back end. In his post-deadline press conference (video link), GM Tom Fitzgerald indicated that blueliner Jonas Siegenthaler (lower body) won’t be able to return for the rest of the regular season but does have a chance to return in the playoffs. Meanwhile, he declined to put a timeline on the reported week-to-week lower-body injury for Dougie Hamilton but confirmed that his top-scoring blueliner will be out for an extended period.
Siegenthaler has been out of the lineup for a little more than a month due to a lower-body injury and was moved to LTIR in recent days before Jack Hughes’ season-ending shoulder surgery. The 27-year-old isn’t a big point producer from the back end as he had just two goals and seven assists in 55 games before being injured; his nine points matched his total from last season.
But Siegenthaler has long been a capable defensive defender and his absence will be more felt on that end. He primarily played in a shutdown role while taking a regular turn on the penalty kill; all told, he finishes his regular season with 19:36 in ATOI. While that ranks fifth among New Jersey defenders, none of their rearguards are averaging 21 minutes a game on the season with their distribution being quite close, a rarity across the NHL.
New Jersey quickly moved to fill Siegenthaler’s role earlier this week when they acquired Brian Dumoulin from Anaheim while they picked up Dennis Cholowski from the Islanders today to add more defensive depth. But that’s all the help they’re going to have now for a while with no word on how long Hamilton will be out for while we now know that Siegenthaler’s set to miss the final six weeks of the regular season and potentially more.
Bruins, Devils Swap Daniil Misyul, Marc McLaughlin
The Bruins announced they’ve acquired minor-league defenseman Daniil Misyul from the Devils for AHL-bound forward Marc McLaughlin.
McLaughlin has been in and out of the Bruins lineup this season, working into a career-high 12 games along the way. He has just two points, both goals, in that span while adding a minus-one. He’s been a tad more productive in the minor leagues, where he’s totaled 14 points in 34 games. That mark matches his scoring from 68 AHL games last year. Both seasons stand as a down year from McLaughlin’s career-high 30 points set in 66 AHL games in 2022-23. He’s served as a de facto call-up for the Bruins all the while, ultimately totaling six points – interestingly, all goals – in 26 career appearances dating back to 2021-22. He was signed as an undrafted free agent that season, joining the Bruins organization after four years at Boston College. McLaughlin grew up just outside of Boston and, save for AHL stints in Providence, will make his first move out of Massachusetts since he played USHL hockey in Cedar Rapids thanks to this trade.
In return, the Bruins land six-foot-three defenseman Misyul, who has eight assists, 33 penalty minutes, and a minus-eight in 47 AHL games this season. Misyul also made his NHL debut earlier in the year, but managed no scoring and a minus-one. He has also seen a knock in his minor league production after netting 14 points in 44 games last year. Prior to that, Misyul spent five seasons with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv of Russia’s KHL. He wasn’t much of a scorer overseas either, tallying just 21 points across 183 games in the KHL. He will slot in as a depth defenseman for the Providence Bruins.
Both McLaughlin and Misyul are set for restricted free agency this summer.
Devils Acquire Dennis Cholowski From Islanders
The Devils announced they’ve acquired defenseman Dennis Cholowski from the Islanders in exchange for forward Adam Beckman. Both players were on AHL assignments, but the team’s Amanda Stein reports Cholowski will be recalled to New Jersey’s active roster. Beckman will report to the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport.
Cholowski won’t have to move very far to join the fifth organization of his career. The former 20th overall selection of the 2016 NHL Draft has spent the last three years with the Islanders’ organization, scoring three goals and 10 points in 35 games at the NHL level.
He’s understandably been better offensively during his time with AHL Bridgeport. Since the start of the 2022-23 campaign, Cholowski has scored nine goals and 70 points in 141 AHL contests with Bridgeport but has continued to lack on the defensive side of the puck. In those 141 regular-season contests, Cholowski managed a ghastly -35 rating.
He’ll serve as depth on the left side of New Jersey’s blue line and will likely shift to the seventh defensive option once Jonas Siegenthaler returns from injury. Meanwhile, Bridgeport is adding one of the AHL’s most consistent scorers in Beckman.
The former third-round pick of the Minnesota Wild has scored 13 goals and 33 points in 43 games this year for the AHL’s Utica Comets, on pace for the best season of his career. He’ll be a major benefit to a Bridgeport team that ranks third-worst in total goals.
PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed to this article.
Devils Acquire Daniel Sprong From Kraken
The Devils have acquired depth winger Daniel Sprong from the Kraken, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Seattle is receiving a seventh-round pick in return, according to Tim Booth of the Seattle Times.
A minimal return will be all Seattle lands for scoring winger Sprong, who they acquired for future considerations from the Vancouver Canucks in November. Sprong went unclaimed on waivers two months later, and the Kraken used that chance to assign him to the minor leagues. He’s been absolutely red-hot ever since, with 11 goals and 25 points in 19 games with the Coachella Valley Firebirds. That’s exorbitantly more than the five points Sprong scored in 19 NHL games to start the season, split between time in Vancouver and Seattle.
Despite minimal NHL scoring this year, Sprong has shown flashed of bringing his hot touch to the NHL. He scored 21 goals and 46 points with the Kraken in the 2022-23 season, then followed it with 18 goals and 43 points in 76 games with Detroit last year. The pair of seasons seemed to finally push Sprong onto the track of strong goal-scoring – and Vancouver took the upside bet by signing him to a one-year contract last summer.
Sprong didn’t find his spark in Vancouver, or in a return to Seattle – but he could find it as the New Jersey Devils search for more scoring options. The Devils rank 14th in the league with 2.98 goals-per-game on average, a step above both Vancouver (26th, 2.74) and Seattle (16th, 2.94). That could set Sprong up for a more welcome committee as he takes on the remaining season on a playoff contender. Sprong should step in as a depth-winger for the Devils lineup – and his ice time could be largely dependent on how well he’s able to rediscover his scoring.
Devils To Acquire Cody Glass From Penguins
The New Jersey Devils are set to acquire young centerman Cody Glass from the Pittsburgh Penguins, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The full trade sends Glass and Jonathan Gruden to New Jersey in exchange for prospects Chase Stillman and Max Graham, as well as a 2027 third-round pick.
Glass was playing through his first season with the Penguins. Pittsburgh acquired him from the Nashville Predators alongside a third-round and sixth-round draft pick this summer in exchange for depth minor-leaguer Jordan Frasca. The move was intended to give Glass a much-needed change of scenery after his years in Nashville were derailed by injury and inconsistent ice time. But Glass’ struggle to earn lineup attention has continued with the Penguins. He has just four goals and 15 points in 51 games this season.
Glass has made up for that low scoring with more well-rounded play away from the puck, posting a career-high 52.7 faceoff percentage, 43 hits, and 31 blocked shots. Those defensive stats have helped Glass hold onto a menial role in Pittsburgh’s bottom-six. He’s averaged just 13:25 in ice time this season, exactly one second lower than his average with Nashville last year.
The 25-year-old centerman is still working to vindicate the top-10 draft acclaim he earned when the Vegas Golden Knights selected him sixth-overall in 2017. Glass became the first draft pick in Golden Knights history after scoring a dazzling 94 points in 69 WHL games in his draft year. He followed it with 102 points in 64 games, then 69 points in 38 games – painting the picture of a tireless and capable playmaking centerman. He seemed to keep that up when he turned pro at the end of the 2018-19 season, netting five points in his first six AHL games.
The ramped up scoring earned Glass his NHL debut in the 2019-20 season, but he quickly lost his grip on elite scoring. He scored just 12 points in 39 games as an NHL rookie, and proceeded to tally just 11 points in 35 games over the next two seasons while splitting time between the major and minor leagues. Midway through achieving those totals, Glass was traded to Nashville in a three-team trade that sent Nolan Patrick to Vegas and Ryan Ellis to Philadelphia.
Nashville opted to return Glass to the minors soon after acquiring him, in hopes that he’d rediscover his top scoring. He certainly did – with 62 points in 66 games with the Milwaukee Admirals. Those numbers gave Glass the boost needed to score a career-high 14 goals and 35 points in 72 games of Nashville’s 2022-23 season. He seemed geared up to finally find his NHL stride headed into last season, but nagging injuries quickly got the best of him. Glass played in 41 games and scored just 13 points last year, prompting a move to Pittsburgh in advance of this season.
Now, Glass will prepare for another move. He’ll join a hot New Jersey Devils offense in need of a scoring boost after news that superstar Jack Hughes will miss the remaining season with an upper-body injury. Glass should be one of the many beneficiary of Hughes’ near 21 minutes of average ice time suddenly opening up. He’ll compete with Erik Haula and, potentially, Dawson Mercer for minutes in the middle lane. New Jersey will also need to find more support on their power-play, which could give Glass the set up he needs to rediscover the commendable scoring he managed in Nashville.
Pittsburgh will land sly additions in Stillman and Graham. Stillman has struggled to find his footing in the AHL this year, with just nine points, 26 PIMs, and a minus-14 in 46 games. He was far more productive as an AHL rookie last year, when he managed 14 goals, 24 points, 72 PIMs, and a minus-two in 54 games. The Devils originally drafted Stillman in the first-round of the 2021 NHL Draft. He followed his draft with two more years in the OHL, capped off by an OHL Championship win with the Peterborough Petes in 2022-23. Stillman had 48 points in 59 games that season, bringing his juniors totals up to 131 points in 176 games and three seasons. He is the son of 16-year NHL veteran Cory Stillman, who is currently the head coach of the OHL’s Guelph Storm. Chase’s brother Riley Stillman is also a defender for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Graham has found himself in a similar position to Stillman, racking up the penalty minutes in juniors in the face of right around point-per-game scoring. He has 35 points and 79 PIMs in 34 games with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets this season, following up on his 42 points and 135 PIMs in 67 games last year. Graham was a fifth-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft and seems headed for the track of a hard-nosed grinder when he turns pro next season.
New Jersey Devils Expressing Interest In Brayden Schenn
As originally reported by Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff, and later confirmed by James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now, center Brayden Schenn has become a focus player for the New Jersey Devils today. Factoring in their reported interest in Nashville Predators’ Ryan O’Reilly, the Devils are aggressively pursuing a top-six center and are unafraid of any remaining term.
Schenn would check a lot of the same boxes that O’Reilly does. He’s a veteran two-way center who can play in New Jersey’s top six for the rest of the 2024-25 campaign before transferring to a third-line role once Jack Hughes returns next season.
He shouldn’t cost any more than O’Reilly, either. Schenn has three years at a $6.5MM cap hit remaining on his current deal with a full no-trade clause this season. That no-trade clause transitions to a 15-team no-trade clause for the last three years of his contract.
The native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, may not fill the offensive gap left by Hughes, but his physicality and defensive skills are exceptional. This season, he has scored 12 goals and accumulated 38 points in 63 games with the Blues, showing a slight improvement in points per game compared to his previous season, during which he recorded 20 goals and 46 points.
Meanwhile, Schenn has already eclipsed 100 hits on the season for the 14th consecutive year and is averaging higher than a 50.0% success rate in the faceoff dot. New Jersey is already 11th in the league in hits given this year with 1401, but their faceoff rate could use some work as they rank 24th with a team success rate of 49.05%.
Given the trade chatter surrounding Schenn the last several weeks, the Devils would undoubtedly have to part with their 2026 first-round pick in the hypothetical trade. St. Louis is known to be seeking additional assets, but a first-round pick is an imperative part of the deal. New Jersey appears inclined to make that a part of any package for a promising center, but they’ll pursue all other options before pulling the trigger.
Devils Sign Johnathan Kovacevic To Five-Year Extension
The Devils are closing in on an extension with pending UFA defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. The team later announced it’s a five-year deal worth $20MM, paying him an average of $4MM per season. The year-by-year salary breakdown is available in the team release. Per PuckPedia, the deal carries a no-trade clause through 2026-27 and a 10-team no-trade from 2027-28 until its expiry in 2029-30.
New Jersey acquired the 27-year-old from the Canadiens last summer in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick. It was a prudent move from the Devils, who’ve gotten solid defensive play out of the righty in career-high minutes. Averaging 19:43 per game, he’s posted 1-13–14 with a +11 rating in 63 games.
The hulking 6’5″, 223-lb defender doesn’t play an uber-physical game, but still ranks fifth on the Devils with 81 blocks and seventh with 83 hits. Since breaking into the league with the Jets in 2022, his value has come from strong possession play in defensive-oriented minutes. His pairing with the now-injured Jonas Siegenthaler has been one of the best shutdown units in the league this season, allowing only 1.82 expected goals against per 60 minutes. According to MoneyPuck, that’s ninth-best in the league among pairings with at least 150 minutes together.
The Devils now have their top three right-shot defensemen under contract next season. It calls into question the future of 2022 No. 2 overall pick Simon Nemec, a 21-year-old righty who’s failed to impress in his NHL minutes this season. After posting 3-13–19 with a minus-seven rating in 60 games last year, he’s recorded just one assist in 15 showings in 2024-25 while averaging 15:29 per game. Reports as recent as last week still indicated New Jersey was unwilling to leverage him in a trade, however.