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Devils Re-Sign Kurtis MacDermid For Three Years

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The Devils have filled their enforcer role for the foreseeable future, re-signing winger/defenseman Kurtis MacDermid to a three-year, $3.45MM contract on Friday. The deal carries a $1.15MM cap hit and is paid out entirely in base salary, earning him $1.25MM in 2024-25, $1.2MM in 2025-26 and $1MM in 2026-27.  PuckPedia adds that $250K next season and $200K from his 2025-26 salary will come in the form of signing bonuses.

New Jersey acquired MacDermid, 30, via trade from the Avalanche on March 1, sending Colorado the signing rights to center prospect Zakhar Bardakov and the Predators’ seventh-round pick, 215th overall, in this year’s draft. He played in 16 games for the Devils down the stretch, lining up at forward for all of them, contributing an assist while racking up 50 PIMs during his short stint in the Garden State.

He’ll now have the opportunity to add many more over the next three seasons. MacDermid first broke into the league with the Kings in 2017-18, over five years after they initially signed him as an undrafted free agent out of the Ontario Hockey League’s Owen Sound Attack.

He’s remained in the league as a seventh defenseman/13th forward ever since and hasn’t been assigned to the minors since the 2018-19 campaign. In 265 career games, the 6’5″ heavyweight has 11 goals, 31 points, a -24 rating and 368 PIMs with Colorado, Los Angeles and New Jersey.

MacDermid was also briefly a member of the Kraken, who selected him from the Kings in the 2021 expansion draft. He remained a member of the organization for all of six days before they flipped him to the Avs for a 2023 fourth-round pick (later flipped to the Sharks for Jaycob Megna, used to select defenseman Luca Cagnoni). He was on the roster for Colorado’s Stanley Cup win in 2022 but didn’t suit up in any playoff games after making a career-high 58 regular season appearances.

Today’s extension is the richest deal MacDermid has earned in his NHL career, beating out the two-year, $1.975MM extension he signed with the Avalanche in 2022. It’s his first three-year deal since his entry-level contract. He was set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Devils Re-Sign Brian Halonen, Samuel Laberge

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The Devils re-signed depth winger Brian Halonen to a two-year, two-way deal on Thursday, per a team announcement. His extension will cost $775K against the cap when he’s on the NHL roster. New Jersey also inked forward Samuel Laberge to a one-year, two-way extension worth $775K in the NHL.

Halonen, 25, was set to be a restricted free agent this summer after completing his entry-level contract. His new deal carries no signing bonuses and will pay him $175K at the AHL level in 2024-25 and $275K in 2025-26, a raise over the $80K minors salary he earned on his rookie pact. The extension walks him to unrestricted free agency in 2026.

Laberge, meanwhile, turned 27 last month and would have become a UFA this summer if he didn’t re-sign in Jersey. He’ll net $120K at the AHL level next season with a $135K guarantee, per the team.

In inking both to extensions, general manager Tom Fitzgerald will squeeze some more value out of a pair of undrafted free agent signings. Halonen joined the team back in March 2022 after a standout senior season at Michigan Tech, taking home CCHA First All-Star Team honors while leading the Huskies in scoring with 21 goals and 44 points in 37 games.

The Minnesota native took a while to get going last season while on assignment to AHL Utica, struggling to get on the scoresheet much before a brief demotion to ECHL Adirondack in December. He played just one game with Adirondack, posting an assist, before being recalled back to Utica and finishing the season on a tear. He finished 2022-23 with 17 goals and 30 points in 57 games, ranking eighth on the Comets in scoring.

The gifted sniper was limited to 35 games with Utica this season due to injuries, but he more than earned his extension after potting 20 goals to finish second on the team despite playing in less than half of their 72-game schedule. With injuries plaguing the Devils in the latter half of the season, he received his first two NHL recalls down the stretch, making a lone appearance each time. He was used sparingly, though, averaging 8:17 across the pair of games while managing two shots on goal and two hits.

Laberge had been on minor-league contracts with Utica since the 2021-22 campaign but didn’t land an NHL contract until signing with the Devils a couple of months into this season. The 6’2″, 205-lb forward can play center and both wings and has been a solid bottom-six checking forward for the Comets over the past few seasons, totaling 19 goals and 48 points in 155 games with 199 PIMs and a +10 rating. The former captain of the QMJHL’s Rimouski Océanic is entering his eighth professional season.

Like Halonen, Laberge also made his NHL debut this season with a two-game trial. He recorded three hits in just 6:12 of total ice time across a pair of contests he played in November and December, shortly after landing a contract with New Jersey.

Both are likely destined to start 2024-25 in Utica. Halonen still has one season of professional service or 58 NHL games before he requires waivers, but Laberge will no longer be waiver-exempt and will need to hit the wire during the preseason to head to the minors. With the pair of signings, the Devils are now up to 33 out of the maximum 50 standard player contracts on the books next season.

NHL-Affiliated Prospects Playing In 2024 Memorial Cup

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The field for the 2024 Memorial Cup, the top club tournament in junior hockey, is set. The QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs, the OHL’s London Knights and the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors all swept their respective league championship series within the last two days to advance to the CHL championship tournament, joining the host Saginaw Spirit of the OHL.

This year marks the first Memorial Cup held in the United States since 1998, which was hosted by the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. The Spirit will attempt to become the first U.S.-based team to win since the Chiefs in 2008, and they have a strong chance. They’re stronger than a typical host team, finishing second in the league in the regular season with a 50-16-2 record and trailing London by just two points. They were eliminated by London in six games in the Western Conference Final.

The Knights lead the way with 10 NHL-affiliated prospects on their roster, including two first-round picks in Flyers defenseman Oliver Bonk and Maple Leafs forward Easton Cowan. The latter was named the OHL playoffs MVP after leading the Knights in scoring with 10 goals, 24 assists and 34 points in just 18 games. He had 15 points in four games in their championship sweep over the Oshawa Generals.

If you’re looking for some non-Stanley Cup Playoff hockey to watch, check to see if your favorite NHL team has prospects suiting up in the tournament, which begins May 24:

Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL champion)

D Mikaël Diotte (Devils, free agent signing)
RW Ethan Gauthier (Lightning, 2023, 37th overall)
RW Alexis Gendron (Flyers, 2022, 220th overall)
D Vsevolod Komarov (Sabres, 2022, 134th overall)

NHL Utah 2022 first-round pick D Maveric Lamoureux is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in March.

London Knights (OHL champion)

C Denver Barkey (Flyers, 2023, 95th overall)
D Oliver Bonk (Flyers, 2023, 22nd overall)
C Easton Cowan (Maple Leafs, 2023, 28th overall)
D Jackson Edward (Bruins, 2022, 200th overall)
D Isaiah George (Islanders, 2022, 98th overall)
RW Kasper Halttunen (Sharks, 2023, 36th overall)
C Jacob Julien (Jets, 2023, 146th overall)
C Kaleb Lawrence (Kings, 2022, 215th overall)
C Max McCue (Blue Jackets, free agent signing)
C Landon Sim (Blues, 2022, 184th overall)

Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL champion)

RW Jagger Firkus (Kraken, 2022, 35th overall)
D Denton Mateychuk (Blue Jackets, 2022, 12th overall)
D Kalem Parker (Wild, 2023, 181st overall)
D Vojtech Port (Ducks, 2023, 161st overall)
LW Martin Rysavy (Blue Jackets, 2021, 197th overall)
C Matthew Savoie (Sabres, 2022, 9th overall)
C Brayden Yager (Penguins, 2023, 14th overall)

Saginaw Spirit (host)

C Owen Beck (Canadiens, 2022, 33rd overall)
LW Josh Bloom (Canucks, acquired from Sabres in 2023 trade for Riley Stillman)
D Rodwin Dionicio (Ducks, 2023, 129th overall)
D Jorian Donovan (Senators, 2022, 136th overall)
C Hunter Haight (Wild, 2022, 47th overall)
C Ethan Hay (Lightning, 2023, 211th overall)
G Nolan Lalonde (Blue Jackets, free agent signing)
C Matyas Sapovaliv (Golden Knights, 2022, 48th overall)
C Joseph Willis (Predators, 2023, 111th overall)

Afternoon Notes: Devils Coaching, Drouin, Zadorov

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The New Jersey Devils have seemingly found their favorites on the coaching market, with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reporting on the Jeff Marek Show that the team is currently favoring Sheldon Keefe and Jay Woodcroft (Twitter link). More specifically, Woodcroft was the favorite before Keefe’s firing. But the Devils were quick to interview Keefe when he became available, even going as far as requesting permission to interview him amidst his closing days in Toronto. The interview clearly went well, with Keefe now a favorite for what Elliotte Friedman described as the coaching role with the highest ceiling.

New Jersey would offer a similar backdrop for Keefe – boasting some of the strongest top-end forwards but struggling to find the same consistency in net. The Devils have the exciting advantage of a much, much deeper defense group than Toronto carried during Keefe’s tenure – with the core quartet of Dougie Hamilton, Simon Nemec, Luke Hughes, and Jonas Siegenthaler stronger than what most of the league offers. New Jersey’s season was marred by injuries, best exemplified by star centerman Jack Hughes missing 20 games and star defender Hamilton missing 62. The inconsistent lineup was too much for head coaches Lindy Ruff or Travis Green to handle, with the Devils ending the year with a 38-39-5 record.

But even after the slow season, the sky still seems to be the limit for the New Jersey Devils. A fully healthy season out of Jack Hughes, a full year of young defenders Hughes and Nemec, and a fruitful addition with the 2024 10th-overall pick should set the bar high for the skilled Devils lineup, giving them playoff aspirations under the right leader.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Colorado Avalanche could be set to add a top-six winger back to the lineup, with head coach Jared Bednar dubbing Jonathan Drouin as a game-time decision, per Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Drouin has so far missed every postseason game with a lower-body injury – but upgraded to a full-contact jersey, and top power-play unit reps, at the team’s Monday practice. Those are good signs of progress for Drouin, who recorded a career-high 56 points in 79 games this season. He’s seemingly found his footing in Colorado, and will now be set to add to his postseason career totals of 21 points in 33 games. His return should bump one of Joel Kiviranta or Brandon Duhaime out of the lineup, depending on if Colorado wants to prioritize skill or grit.
  • The NHL Department of Player Safety has fined Vancouver Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov for cross-checking Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid at the end of Game 3. Zadorov hit McDavid right into Carson Soucy, who landed a cross-check on McDavid’s face. Soucy will have a hearing sometime today for the incident. And while they’re certainly holding their breath in anticipation of a possible Soucy suspension, the Canucks are certainly relieved that Zadorov avoided harsher punishment. He has been one of Vancouver’s best defensemen this postseason, posting four goals and seven points through nine games, while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time each night. Zadorov has brought skill, finesse, and grit to the lineup – although maybe a bit too much of the latter, as he’s now facing DoPS punishment.

Todd McLellan Has Interviewed For Head Coach Vacancy

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The Devils are hoping to have their coaching search wrapped up in the near future now that Travis Green is now in Ottawa.  Craig Berube and Jay Woodcroft have been linked to the position already but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in a recent NHL Network appearance (video link) that Todd McLellan has also interviewed for the position and could be in the mix for a second interview as well.  McLellan is one of the most experienced coaches available with 1,144 career regular season games under his belt, good for 24th all-time.  His teams have played to a .581 points percentage over that time but he was let go midseason by Los Angeles with the Kings underachieving at the time.

Poll: Who Will Be The Devils Next Head Coach?

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The New Jersey Devils are once again searching for a new head coach, poised to hire their fifth bench manager in as many years after turning over both Lindy Ruff and Travis Green this season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman described New Jersey’s vacancy as the role with the highest ceiling amidst a long list of teams searching for new hires – and it’s clear to see why. The Devils have one of the most exciting lineups in the league, with the one-two punch of Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier flanked by elite wingers and top defense prospects.

The next head coach will assume a young and talented lineup that should only get better this off-season, with the Devils boasting the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft following Monday’s draft lottery. The team is reportedly open to trading the pick in exchange for impactful lineup pieces, which could only strengthen their ability to make a strong run next season. That certainly seems to be the priority of general manager Tom Fitzgerald, who’s now faced with his toughest decision yet in who to name head coach.

Luckily, the coaching carousel is in full gear, and there is no shortage of strong options available to the Devils. They seem to be assessing every fit they can, even being linked to Sheldon Keefe, the NHL’s most recent free-agent coach after being fired by Toronto on Thursday. Keefe offers the coveted experience of coaching superstar talent before, coming off five years overseeing Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander. Finding a way to balance so much skill isn’t always easy, but Keefe made the most of it, with all three stars rivaling 100 points at some point over the last few seasons. Keefe would be greeted by a much stronger defense in New Jersey, giving him a well-rounded roster much more akin to his time with the Toronto Marlies rather than the Maple Leafs. But the Devils have Stanley Cup aspirations, and Keefe’s postseason track record is certainly flawed. That could be the deciding factor in a coaching market with Cup-winning talents available.

Craig Berube, who led the 2019 Cup-winning St. Louis Blues, is reportedly the most popular coach on the market, being linked to nearly every coaching job available, including New Jersey, Toronto, and Ottawa. The popularity could leave the choice up to Berube on where he wants to go next – and the coveted Devils seat could look enticing for a man who had to endure 1,054 career games as a player, and 182 as an NHL head coach, before finally lifting the Stanley Cup. Berube’s chemistry with St. Louis’ younger talent certainly came into question during his time in Missouri, especially near the end of his tenure, but his commandeering style could be exactly what the Devils need after a year of disarray.

Long-term Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan could also offer Cup-winning precedent, should he hit the open market. Sullivan still remains under contract with the Pittsburgh, but could soon be searching for a new home amidst a list of coaching changes in the Penguins organization. Sullivan kicked off his first years in Pittsburgh, and some of his first years as a head coach, with a bang when he won back-to-back Cups in 2016 and 2017. He led Pittsburgh to playoff berths in the subsequent five seasons, though postseason absences in the last two years has his job on the fritz. Sullivan has only served two seasons as a head coach outside of Pittsburgh, making his next steps a bit unprecedented. And while it’s hard to leave a lineup of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang behind, the trio of Hughes, Hischier, and Dougie Hamilton could be a fine replacement.

There are plenty of other options earning coaching interviews around the league, including Gerard Gallant, Todd McLellan, and Jay Woodcroft. But New Jersey will need to be diligent in making their decision. The shift from Ruff to Green showed just how impactful coaching was to this Devils lineup – made most evident by Timo Meier’s 24 points in 21 games under Green after scoring at a 0.62 points-per-game pace under Ruff. He was one of many Devils to find a new groove under Green, and will be among the most important players for a new coach to prioritize. There is plenty of potential throughout the Devils lineup, but after a year of injuries and inconsistency, they’re still searching for their groove. Finding a new head coach will set the bar for just how much a young, ambitious Devils lineup can achieve next year.

(poll link for app users)

Fitzgerald: Tenth Pick Could Be Trade Chip

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At the beginning of the season, the Devils weren’t expected to be picking in the top ten but that’s where they find themselves after the lottery earlier this week.  Speaking after the lottery, GM Tom Fitzgerald indicated to reporters including team reporter Amanda Stein that it’s not a guarantee he’ll use the tenth pick next month, suggesting it’s an option to be moved if the right trade presents itself.  It’s not very often that top-ten picks are dealt but with New Jersey being a team in win-now mode, they could be inclined to try to use that selection for someone who is more established and can contribute right away.

Devils Linked To Sheldon Keefe

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It took until Thursday morning, but the Maple Leafs did decide to move on from head coach Sheldon Keefe after losing in the first round for the fourth time in his five-year tenure. His sparkling regular-season record over that time still immediately catapults him to being one of the top candidates on the open market, though.

To that end, the Devils are one of the teams expected to interview Keefe for their vacancy, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports. They’ve also been linked to former Blues bench boss Craig Berube – widely viewed as the most desirable candidate on the market – and ex-Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft.

New Jersey also has some documented interest in Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan should he hit the open market, but it seems more likely he’ll remain in Pittsburgh. The Devils are one of six teams with an active vacancy after firing Lindy Ruff in March and opting not to promote interim head coach Travis Green, who has since signed a four-year deal to become the next head coach of the Senators.

Keefe’s 212-97-40 record over 349 games with the Leafs is good for a .665 points percentage, the highest all-time among head coaches with at least 300 games of service. While there are others out there with far worse postseason winning percentages/records than his 16-21 mark, the failure to win more than one series despite consistently boasting an above-average team did him in. As did an all-too-familiar lack of scoring – the Leafs’ offense, led by some of the premier scoring and playmaking talents in the world in Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, went 14 games without scoring more than three goals.

In New Jersey, he would take over a team with a very similar level of uncertainty between the pipes – at least for now. Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll were both high-ceiling yet inconsistent options last year, although, as a whole, they were preferable to the rotating cast of Devils netminders that conceded 19 goals above average. They’re expected to be on the hunt for a top-tier name on the trade market, though, and are likely to see a name like Jacob Markström, Linus Ullmark or Juuse Saros as their opening-night starter.

He’d also be assuming a defense core that, with a healthy Dougie Hamilton, is one of the most tantalizing yet well-rounded groups in the league. Hamilton, along with rising sophomores Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec, gives Keefe the option to ice a premier puck-moving threat on all three pairings, balanced with a defensively responsible other half in Kevin Bahl, John Marino and Jonas Siegenthaler.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Coaching Notes: Devils, Blues, Kings

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The New Jersey Devils plan to solidify a new head coach within the next 7-to-10 days, per The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun (Twitter link). New Jersey just lost interim head coach Travis Green to a four-year contract with the Ottawa Senators, leaving their commanding spot vacant for the first time since firing Lindy Ruff in March. Green led the Devils to a 38-39-5 record, in his two months behind the helm, performing well enough to earn his first full-time head coaching role since leaving the Vancouver Canucks in the 2021-22 season. Ruff has also found a new home, returning to the Buffalo Sabres, where he’s already spent 10 years as a player and 16 years as a coach.

The coaching carousel has circled around the Devils and it’s now their chance to name a new boss. Jay Woodcroft and Craig Berube are seemingly leading the way, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on The Jeff Marek Show. Friedman added that many around the league view New Jersey as the job with the highest ceiling. That’s certainly no surprise, as their next head coach will assume a roster with stars Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, and Dougie Hamilton. And New Jersey is only getting better, with rookie defenders Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec earning full-time roles last season and the Devils recently signing top defense prospect Seamus Casey. New Jersey had a shockingly poor season, missing the playoffs by 10 points after bearing with injuries, a lack of chemistry, and poor goaltending all year. There is star power throughout their lineup, but with very little cap space this summer the Devils will need to hope that a new head coach will be enough to bring out their full potential.

Other notes from the coaching circuit:

  • The St. Louis Blues will be retaining the entire staff behind head coach Drew Bannister, shares The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (Twitter link). The Blues removed Bannister’s interim title earlier today, with Rutherford adding that the hiring process also featured interviews with the team’s advisors Peter Chiarelli, Alexander Steen, and Scott Mellanby. Bannister made it through each stage, and will now return to a team that he led to a 30-19-5 record last season. Bannister brought the best out of some of St. Louis’ youngest players, and manned a red-hot goaltending duo of Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer. While Bannister’s staff won’t lose any faces, the Blues haven’t ruled out the possibility of adding more coaching supports, as they look to get back into the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
  • The Los Angeles Kings are taking their time with their own coaching search, and plan to interview interim head coach Jim Hiller next week, shares LeBrun (Twitter link). LeBrun adds that the Kings liked what they saw out of Hiller but aren’t committed to him just yet. Hiller led the Kings to a 21-12-1 record after taking over for Todd McLellan on February 10th. It was the first head coaching opportunity of Hiller’s career, after 10 years of serving as an assistant coach across the NHL. He previously spent eight years as a head coach in the WHL, making the playoffs seven times.

Devils Re-Sign Maxwell Willman, Nathan Légaré

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The Devils announced Tuesday that they’ve re-signed forwards Maxwell Willman and Nathan Légaré to one-year, two-way deals with matching $775K cap hits and NHL salaries. Per the team, Willman will earn a $275K AHL salary with $300K guaranteed, while Légaré will earn an AHL salary of $85K.

Willman, 29, returns for his second season in New Jersey. He played in 18 games last season in fourth-line call-up duties, scoring three goals and adding an assist while averaging a minuscule 8:20 per game. It was his first extended NHL action since appearing in 41 games for the Flyers in 2021-22.

He spent a solid chunk of the season on assignment to AHL Utica, where he had arguably his best offensive season as a professional. The former Brown and Boston University forward had 12 goals and 22 points in 32 contests with Utica, reaching a career-high 0.67 points per game in the AHL. The Massachusetts native was only used as injury insurance this season, though, and likely isn’t in consideration for a spot in next season’s opening night lineup. It’s still a nice bit of financial insurance for the veteran, who lands his highest guaranteed salary to date.

Like Willman, Légaré is almost definitely headed for Utica next season. The 23-year-old was a third-round pick of the Penguins back in 2019 but is already on his third NHL organization, heading to the Canadiens in last summer’s Erik Karlsson three-way trade before landing with New Jersey in a minor-league swap in March. The Montreal native was wrapping up his entry-level contract and received just a $15K bump in his minors salary. In 57 games with AHL Laval and Utica this season, the right winger struggled to produce, limited to eight goals and 12 points with a -10 rating.

Willman will be an unrestricted free agent in 2025, while the Devils will retain control over Légaré as a restricted free agent. Both will need to clear waivers to head to Utica if cut from the roster during training camp.

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