Devils’ Simon Nemec Frustrated To Be In The AHL
New Jersey Devils top prospect, Simon Nemec, made some comments earlier this week when discussing his future with the Devils and his current status in the AHL (as per Tomáš Prokop of Dennik Sports). The defenseman stated that he was not happy with his current position in the AHL and voiced his displeasure, saying that he feels he has proven that he belongs in the NHL. He also added that it is too early to request a trade but at some point, the situation would need to be addressed.
The 2022 second-overall pick is in his third professional season, most of which he has spent with the Utica Comets of the AHL. However, last season the 20-year-old did dress in 60 NHL games with New Jersey and was effective, tallying three goals and 16 assists and garnering some Calder Trophy consideration for top rookie.
James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now reached out to the Devils organization to see if they were aware of any frustrations with Nemec and said they weren’t aware of that but knew that he was disappointed to be playing outside the NHL.
Nemec did mention in his interview that he felt he was moving on from one of the toughest times he’s had in hockey, as he dealt with an upper-body injury earlier this season that he suffered at the 2026 Olympic qualifiers. Nemec was able to make the team out of training camp but had a very slow start in the NHL, posting just a single assist in nine games before he was demoted to Utica.
He’s been good in the AHL, posting 16 points in 23 games. However, the tricky part for Nemec is that the Devils’ defense is deep, and they are playing some great hockey this season, which adds to the challenge of getting back to the NHL.
Devils Looking To Add A Center
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic sat down with New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald to discuss what the team is looking to do before the NHL Trade Deadline. Fitzgerald mentioned that he has an open mind at this point, but that the pro scouting department has identified the center position as an area of need. The news isn’t all that surprising, given that the Devils were linked to Montreal Canadiens center Jake Evans just a week ago.
Fitzgerald has been looking at potential trade options and has reportedly already started calling teams to see who might be available. Centers are always in demand, and as Fitzgerald points out in the interview, you can never have enough of them. The Devils could certainly use some depth scoring in their forward group as it remains one of their few weaknesses, and if they can’t acquire a center, they may need to settle for a winger.
LeBrun points out that possible targets include Ryan O’Reilly, Yanni Gourde, and Scott Laughton. Gourde would be a rental as his contract expires at the end of the season, while O’Reilly has two years remaining on his deal at a cap hit of $4.5MM, and Laughton has one year left on his deal. Fitzgerald said he was open to acquiring either a rental or a player with term and would look at both options in his hunt for a center.
The Devils have made many changes over the last year, addressing their goaltending and defense last summer while tinkering with other parts of their roster. They are certainly one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference and could very well put themselves over the top in the next few weeks if they can address their depth scoring and add the center they desire.
Devils Recall Brian Halonen
The Devils announced that winger Brian Halonen has been recalled from AHL Utica. There was no corresponding move since New Jersey had an open roster spot, and their active roster is now full.
This is the first time this season Halonen has been summoned from the minors after inking a two-year, two-way contract extension last May. He still needs one more professional season under his belt to require waivers, so he was sent down to Utica near the end of training camp without incident.
Halonen comes up to serve as an extra forward with Stefan Noesen unavailable for tonight’s game against the Maple Leafs due to illness, the team said. Erik Haula has also been ruled out with his ankle sprain and is still a ways away from returning, although he remains on the active roster. Halonen will likely sit in the press box while enforcer Kurtis MacDermid slots in at wing instead of defense.
The 26-year-old Halonen has played 31 games for Utica this season, leading the club with 13 goals and tying for the team lead with 21 points. The undrafted free agent signing out of Michigan Tech back in 2022 made his NHL debut last season across a pair of appearances, recording two shots on goal and two hits in 16:34 of total ice time. He hasn’t gotten a real opportunity to flash any offensive upside at the NHL level, but he has been a valuable contributor throughout his time in Utica with 83 points through 135 career AHL games.
As for Noesen, it’s a brief blip in an otherwise fantastic season for the veteran winger. In his second go-around in the Garden State, the 31-year-old has already set a new career-high in goals with 17 through 45 games. The Devils pried him away from the Hurricanes on the open market last summer with a three-year, $8.25MM contract that so far looks like a worthy investment.
Kovacevic Fined For Cross-Check
- The NHL announced that Devils defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic has been fined just under $2K (his maximum allowable under the CBA relative to his salary) for a cross-checking incident in last night’s game against Florida. Meanwhile, the league also announced that Utah center Jack McBain was fined a little under $4.2K for a high-stick on Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher last night. The fines go to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Devils Linked To Canadiens’ Jake Evans
The Devils are among the teams that have called the Canadiens about acquiring pending unrestricted free agent center Jake Evans ahead of the March 7 trade deadline, Pierre LeBrun of TSN said on “Early Trading” on Thursday.
Evans, 28, has drawn trade interest for nearly the entire regular season. Marco D’Amico of RG.org first reported in November that Evans was drawing interest from multiple teams. Evans then told Eric Engels of Sportsnet last month that he’d yet to enter extension negotiations with Montreal.
Much has changed for Evans’ trade value in the past few months. He’d already established himself as a reliable fourth-line piece with a decent amount of upward mobility in the lineup but had never recorded more than 13 goals or 29 points in a season.
Halfway through the year, Evans already has 10 goals and 23 points, operating at a career-best 0.58 points-per-game pace. The Toronto native has also won 50.3% of his draws while averaging 15:36 per game, all the while controlling 47.9% of shot attempts at 5-on-5 despite starting nearly 70% of his shifts in the defensive zone.
Teams will look at Evans’ 28.6% shooting rate as cause for concern – there’s obviously little chance of him maintaining that, considering his 10.2% career average. But he recently passed the 300-game threshold for his career and has now averaged 15:30 per game over the past four years combined, ensuring he’s still a valuable pickup when his shooting rate regresses.
Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald told LeBrun last month that acquiring a fourth-line center and a top-nine piece up front are his top deadline priorities. As things stand, Evans checks off both boxes as an upgrade over Erik Haula on the third line.
Haula, who’s now set to miss a few weeks with a sprained ankle, has struggled offensively this season with 11 points in 42 games and a team-worst minus-six rating. The 33-year-old has still been money on faceoffs, winning over 55% of them, but is tracking to have one of the worst showings of his 12-year career otherwise. He’s been one of the few weak spots on a well-rounded Devils roster that ranks second in the Metropolitan Division, making it easy to see why Fitzgerald’s priorities are what they are.
Evans carries just a $1.7MM cap hit this season, which the Devils could easily fit with $5.68MM in projected deadline space, per PuckPedia. What he’ll cost on an extension coming off a breakout year is a different question entirely.
Haula To Miss Time With Ankle Injury
- The Devils announced (Twitter link) that center Erik Haula is listed as day-to-day with an ankle injury and is set to undergo further testing. Head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including James Nichols of NJ Hockey Now that the veteran is going to miss some time. It has been a rough year for Haula thus far as he has just five goals and six assists in 42 games. Even extrapolated for a full season, his projected output would be well below the 44, 41, and 35 points Haula had in the last three years.
Utah Hockey Club Claims Nick DeSimone On Waivers
1/5: The Utah Hockey Club has claimed DeSimone off of waivers from the Devils, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. DeSimone will replace Dakota Mermis‘ role as Utah’s seventh defenseman, after the Leafs reclaimed Mermis off of waivers from Utah. New Jersey also acquired DeSimone off of waivers, claiming him away from Calgary last season.
1/4: The Devils are making a move to open up a roster spot. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Devils have placed defenseman Nick DeSimone on waivers.
It’s the second time this season that the 30-year-old finds himself on the wire. DeSimone was put on waivers late in training camp and passed through unclaimed. That wasn’t the case last year when he was waived, however, as he wound up with New Jersey via a midseason claim from Calgary, getting into 11 games after that where he had a pair of points along with 21 blocked shots in 16:29 of playing time per contest. However, with the team much healthier and deeper on the back end going into the season, DeSimone lost his roster spot at the time.
DeSimone has been up with the Devils a few times this season. Those combined stints totalled more than 30 days which is why he needs to go back on waivers to return to AHL Utica even though he didn’t suit up once with the Devils while on recall. DeSimone has played in 12 games with the Comets when he hasn’t been in New Jersey, picking up three assists.
DeSimone is playing on a one-year, one-way contract worth the league minimum salary of $775K this season and is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Considering that some teams are dealing with some short-term injuries on the back end, it’s possible that DeSimone could find himself on the move when his waiver period expires at 1 PM CT on Sunday.
Devils Recall Nick DeSimone
The Devils announced that they have recalled right-shot defenseman Nick DeSimone from AHL Utica. He fills one of two open spots on their active roster, so no corresponding move is necessary.
DeSimone returns to the New Jersey roster after spending a good chunk of the last two months as an extra defender, frequently sitting in the press box but not seeing any playing time. He was booted to Utica on Dec. 11 in favor of Colton White, who the Devils recently loaned to Team Canada for the ongoing 2024 Spengler Cup. With White in Switzerland and thus unavailable to serve as injury insurance if needed, DeSimone will return to a familiar press-box role coming out of the holiday break.
Now 30, DeSimone is coming off a career-high seven points in 34 NHL appearances in 2023-24, split between the Flames and Devils. Selected off waivers from Calgary in late January, the minor-league mainstay inked a one-way, $775K extension to remain a Devil in late June but hasn’t seen any NHL ice in 2024-25. The Union College product has been the victim of an impeccably healthy New Jersey defense over the past couple of months, providing little opportunity for him to insert himself ahead of one of the most dynamic defense corps in the league.
DeSimone has looked rusty while on assignment to Utica this season, with only three assists and a -10 rating in 12 appearances. However, he’s historically been a good power-play option in the AHL, posting 179 points in 353 career AHL games over nine seasons and a +25 rating.
DeSimone last cleared waivers at the beginning of the regular season. He’s close to spending a cumulative 30 days on the active roster since then, after which point he’ll need them again to return to the AHL.
International & Minor Transaction Notes: Chartier, Gosselin, Johnson
Rourke Chartier has been traded for the first time in his professional career albeit in the Kontinental Hockey League. Derek O’Brien of The Hockey News wrote earlier that the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star had traded Chartier to CSKA Moskva for cash considerations.
The centerman played admirably with the Red Star, scoring eight goals and 17 points in 37 games, but Kunlun has fallen in the KHL’s Western Conference Standings with only 11 wins on the year. Chartier will join third-place Moskva alongside former NHL talents such as Ivan Prosvetov, Nikita Nesterov, and Denis Gurianov.
Chartier suited up in the NHL as recently as last year with the Ottawa Senators. He spent three years within the Senators organization collecting two goals and three points in 43 NHL contests with another 37 goals and 66 points in 82 games with AHL Belleville. Chartier spent the first three years of his professional career with the San Jose Sharks scoring 30 goals and 74 points in 121 AHL contests and one goal in 13 games for the Sharks during his lone NHL season with the club in 2018-19.
Other international and minor transactions:
- According to the AHL transactions page, the Utica Comets, the top affiliate of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, added some defensive depth to the lineup. The team signed defenseman Kurt Gosselin on a professional tryout agreement and he could play in his first AHL contest since the 2018-19 season. Gosselin has spent the last four years hopping around numerous ECHL franchises playing for the Cincinnati Cyclones, Toledo Walleye, Kalamazoo Wings, Reading Royals, Orlando Solar Bears, and the Adirondack Thunder. He’s scored 24 goals and 61 points in 167 ECHL contests while managing a -4 rating.
- Mathieu Sheridan of The Hockey News reports former AHL forward Isaac Johnson has signed a contract with the Finnish Liiga’s Jukurit. Johnson has only managed 30 AHL games between the Manitoba Moose and Toronto Marlies since joining the professional ranks in the 2021-22 season scoring three goals and eight points overall. He has a much better track record in the ECHL — scoring 64 goals and 139 points in 125 games for the now-defunct Newfoundland Growlers while managing a solid +31 rating.
New Jersey Devils Reassign Colton White
Colton White‘s time with the New Jersey Devils is on pause after 10 days on the active roster. The organization announced the reassignment of White to their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets. New Jersey also added that White will join Team Canada for the upcoming Spengler Cup instead of joining the Comets roster.
The 2024-25 season is his eighth professional season and his sixth with the Devils organization. New Jersey drafted White with the 97th overall pick of the 2015 NHL Draft and he’s been with the organization since aside from two years with the Anaheim Ducks organization.
Most of White’s value centers around his physicality. He’s tallied 10 assists in 84 games at the NHL level since the 2018-19 season with 57 blocked shots and 65 hits. He’s understandably scored more at the AHL level with 17 goals and 78 points in 274 games but has a dismal -69 rating throughout his career.
His inclusion on Team Canada’s roster for this year’s Spengler Cup will be the first international competition of White’s career. He’ll assist the Canadians in pursuing their first Spengler Cup victory since the 2019 tournament. The tournament will take place from December 26th to December 31st in Davos, Switzerland.
The Devils will likely make a corresponding roster move on defense after the Christmas break. They have one more game tomorrow night against the New York Rangers but will want more than six healthy defensemen on the active roster by the weekend.