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Devils Send Akira Schmid To AHL

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The Devils assigned netminder Akira Schmid to the AHL’s Utica Comets on Thursday, according to a team release.

Most expected the Devils to make a move to shake up their crease, but few expected the team to demote last year’s breakout performer between the pipes. Schmid, 23, logged a .922 SV% in 18 appearances in 2022-23, usurping Mackenzie Blackwood for the backup job behind starter Vítek Vaněček by season’s end. The Swiss goalie even stole starts from Vaněček in the postseason, starting eight of New Jersey’s 12 playoff games while recording a .921 SV% and two shutouts. It became clear by the summer that Schmid had secured the backup job behind Vaněček this season, leading the Devils to part ways with Blackwood and trade his signing rights to the Sharks.

Both Schmid and Vaněček have failed to recapture last season’s strong play, however. The Devils’ .888 team SV% is near the bottom of the league, and it’s almost singlehandedly keeping them out of a playoff spot after finishing with 112 points last season.

Even though he’s been below average, Schmid’s numbers are far superior to Vaněček’s this season. In 15 appearances (13 starts), he’s posted a .893 SV% and conceded -3.8 goals saved above average compared to Vaněček’s .885 SV% and -10.2 GSAA in 22 appearances (20 starts).

Choosing to send down the better of your two goalies will certainly raise some eyebrows, but short of trading Vaněček, it’s the only choice Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald had at his disposal to try and improve their goalie situation in the short term. Waiving Vaněček would destroy his trade value as the team continues to browse the market for upgrades, while Schmid can head to Utica without needing waivers.

Last season in Utica, Schmid went 11-7-4 with a .905 SV%, 2.62 GAA and two shutouts in 23 games as he bounced between leagues.

The team now turns to 23-year-old Nico Daws to see if he’s ready for full-time NHL play. New Jersey recalled him yesterday after he posted a 2.39 GAA and .929 SV% in three starts with Utica this month. The 2020 third-round pick missed the first two months of this season after undergoing hip surgery over the summer.

Daws has not made an NHL appearance since the end of the 2021-22 campaign when he made 25 appearances for a Devils team plagued by injuries between the pipes that season. Behind veteran Jonathan Bernier, who played ten games before sustaining a career-ending hip injury, Daws was the best of the other six goalies who suited up for the Devils that year with a 10-11-1 record and .893 SV%. Those still weren’t standout numbers for a team that had decent defensive stats, but he’ll lean on that experience now as he gets another NHL shot. He will presumably start one of the Devils’ upcoming back-to-back road games against the Senators and Bruins to wrap up 2023.

Curtis Lazar Out Day-To-Day

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  • New Jersey Devils forward Curtis Lazar is “a bit banged up” according to team reporter Amanda Stein, and head coach Lindy Ruff says he’s out day-to-day. A hard-working bottom-six winger for New Jersey, Lazar has scored 10 points in 30 games this season and plays a secondary role on the team’s penalty kill. With Lazar out the Devils appear to be slated to run seven defensemen, although the team could also opt to have veteran Chris Tierney fill Lazar’s role while Lazar is out.
  • After a scary-looking abdominal injury, it appears veteran forward Sean Kuraly has avoided a significant absence. The Columbus Blue Jackets announced today that Kuraly would miss tonight’s game against the Devils, but that his status is considered day-to-day. That’s encouraging news for the penalty-killing specialist, as at first glance it seemed unlikely he would miss such a brief amount of time.

Devils Recall Nico Daws

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The Devils recalled goaltender Nico Daws from the AHL’s Utica Comets Wednesday morning, a team announcement states.

Daws, 23, is with the Devils at their morning skate ahead of tonight’s game against the Blue Jackets. There is currently no injury designation for projected starter Vítek Vaněček or backup Akira Schmid. However, Vaněček has been sidelined on a short-term basis with an undisclosed injury multiple times this season, which caused him to miss a December 17 contest against the Ducks. Per the Star-Ledger’s Ryan Novozinsky, both Schmid and Vaněček are present alongside Daws at today’s morning skate.

If either Vaněček or Schmid cannot play tonight, Daws will dress as the backup. He has not made an NHL appearance since April 16, 2022, his last of 23 starts in the 2021-22 campaign.

Daws is still a promising young prospect, but Schmid lapped the German-born Canadian on the team’s depth chart last season. He was already pushed down further by the team’s acquisition of Vaněček in the summer of 2022. After recording a .904 SV% and 16-14-3 record in 33 games with Utica last season, Daws required offseason hip surgery that kept him out of action until early this month.

Once healthy, the Devils assigned Daws to Utica, where he’s since started three games. He’s received minimal goal support from the Comets offense, resulting in a 1-2-0 record, but he’s looked no worse for wear with a .929 SV%. Daws faced at least 30 shots in all three starts.

The Devils brought Daws back up from Utica on an emergency basis ahead of the contest against Anaheim, with Vaněček unable to dress. Daws sat on the bench as a backup to Schmid in that contest and was a healthy scratch for the team’s following game against the Flyers before being returned to the Comets last Wednesday.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: New Jersey Devils

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the New Jersey Devils.

Who are the Devils thankful for?

Ellen Weinberg-Hughes.

The New Jersey Devils have plenty of blessings to count this holiday season but they’ll be thanking nobody more than Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, the mother of their new franchise pieces on both offense and defense. Jack Hughes has forced his way into the very top echelon of NHL talent this year with a dazzling 14 goals and 39 points in 27 games. That’s a 118-point pace this season and brings Jack to a combined 112 points over his last 82 regular season games. Meanwhile, brother Luke Hughes has tallied 16 points through 32 games of his own this year, ranking second among rookie defenders behind Pavel Mintyukov, who has two more points in one more outing. Luke has looked dazzling through his official rookie season and is a favorite to challenge Connor Bedard for this year’s Calder Trophy. Luke will pass Dougie Hamilton for the scoring lead among Devils defenders with one more point, something that could come soon as he’s taken control of New Jersey’s top power-play unit in Hamilton’s absence.

Surely thanks to her own successes as a hockey player, Ellen has helped the Devils find the pieces that could carry the franchise for years to come. The sky is the limit for New Jersey if both Jack and Luke can keep up their strong play.

What are the Devils thankful for?

A hot streak.

New Jersey didn’t hide their struggles in November, falling to a 6-7-0 record that was marked by two separate three-game losing streaks. And while they’re still working their way up, the Devils managed a much more impressive December, kicking off the month with a 5-2-0 record before falling to another three-game skid. They currently sit at 6-4-1 through 2023’s final month – a fine enough record that could look much stronger if New Jersey wasn’t being outscored 38-to-33 through the month. The Devils have three more games through the end of December, including a matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who they beat 6-3 in their last meeting. Ending the month on a high note could go a long way in catapulting New Jersey forward in the new year.

What would the Devils be even more thankful for?

Good health.

The Devils’ season has been undermined by injuries since the start of the year, when they were quickly faced by injuries that held both Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier out of the lineup. Hughes returned quicker than Hischier, who has been in-and-out of the lineup and ultimately missed 11 of the team’s 32 games. Timo Meier has also fallen victim to injury, currently trying to play through lingering issues that have held him out of seven games this season. But it’s the blow to Dougie Hamilton that’s hit the Devils the hardest, with the top defender rumored to be out until the start of the playoffs. Hamilton was playing in over 20 minutes a night for New Jersey, and still leads the team’s defensemen in scoring with 16 points despite missing 12 games.

New Jersey has had to fight through the waves of injuries, relying on depth pieces like Erik Haula and Curtis Lazar to step up big when the team needs it. They’ve performed admirably but there’s no doubting that the team’s 17-13-2 record – which currently sits them outside of the Stanley Cup playoffs – wouldn’t look so sour if they were able to get more games out of their star players. There have only been seven games this season where Hughes, Hischier, and Hamilton appeared in the lineup together. New Jersey showed out in those matchups, going 4-2-1 and outscoring their opponents 29-to-27. They also added an impressive 56.8 CF% (Corsi-For percentage), showing the extent they’re able to dominant play when they have three of their most expensive contracts on the ice together.

What should be on the Devils holiday wish list?

An inexpensive goaltender.

The trade market for goaltenders is getting more-and-more crowded, which stinks for the Devils who have been searching for a new netminder since the summer. Vitek Vanecek’s -8.8 GSAx (Goals saved above expected) stat is the second-worst in the league, per Moneypuck, only behind Edmonton’s struggling Stuart Skinner. Backup Akira Schmid isn’t far behind him, touting the 11th-worst GSAx in the league. That’s all to say that the team’s goaltenders have not been their strong suit, which helps explain why the Devils are allowing the sixth-most goals in the league.

The Devils will gain $9MM in cap space by moving Dougie Hamilton to long-term injured reserve, money that should let them acquire any goaltender they may be able to get their hands on. But which options are available, and how the price will be inflated by a buyer’s market, is yet to be seen. If they can’t find an option on the open market before March’s Trade Deadline, the Devils may need to turn to minor league options like Isaac Poulter, who currently has the second-highest save percentage among AHL rookie goalies with a .920 in 14 games. Either way, something has got to give with the Devils’ weakest link if they want to meet their pre-season expectations.

Devils Could Add Defenseman And Goaltender With Increased Cap Space

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The Devils could be one of the more aggressive teams heading into the trade deadline with some unexpected cap space on their hands, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and TSN writes. While unconfirmed, recent reports indicate star defenseman Dougie Hamilton won’t be ready to return from his pectoral injury until the playoffs – likely in April or May. That opens up the possibility for his $9MM cap hit to head to long-term injured reserve, opening up significant room for the Devils to make deadline acquisitions.

With that extra money, look for the Devils to address needs on defense and in goal, LeBrun says. The Devils are receiving strong performances from rookie defenders Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec without Hamilton in the fold. Nemec, who was only recalled a few weeks ago in the wake of Hamilton’s injury, has been especially impressive. The 2022 second-overall pick is logging major minutes, averaging 20:56 through ten games, and has posted a goal and three assists. While his -5 rating suggests he’s struggled defensively at first glance, that figure is artificially brought down by the team’s poor goaltending. His 54.6% Corsi share at even strength is fourth among Devils defensemen this season, and his expected +3.7 rating, per Hockey Reference, is fourth on the team.

For a team that has championship aspirations, though, it would be unwise to rely on a pair of rookies to carry the team the rest of the way until Hamilton returns. They’ll undoubtedly still look to add to their defense, but Nemec’s emergence and Hamilton’s potential LTIR placement open the door for the Devils to address their goaltending issues in a big way. Their .887 team SV% ranks near the bottom of the league, and starter Vítek Vaněček’s -8.3 goals saved above expected is fifth-worst among netminders this year, per MoneyPuck. Obvious targets include Ducks starter John Gibson and Canadiens veteran Jake Allen, both of whom have been linked to New Jersey in recent months.

Metropolitan Notes: Severson, Roslovic, Daws, Hinostroza

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Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson will likely make his return from an oblique injury before Christmas, Columbus team reporter Jeff Svoboda relayed Wednesday. Severson, who remains on injured reserve, has missed just over a month since sustaining the injury in a November 19 contest against the Flyers, putting him well ahead of his predicted six-week return timeframe.

The 29-year-old blueliner is in his first season in Columbus after the Blue Jackets acquired his signing rights from the Devils just days before free agency opened last summer, promptly signing him to an eight-year, $50MM deal. Through his first 19 games, he’d given Columbus the level of play we’ve been accustomed to seeing from him over the past few seasons, notching eight points and a +1 rating while logging nearly 21 minutes per game. He remains in first place among Blue Jackets defenders with a 52% Corsi share at even strength, nearly four percentage points higher than second-place Zach Werenski’s 48.1% mark. While playoffs again are out of the question for a Blue Jackets squad that’s six games below the .500 mark, Severson has been off to a strong start and looks to be an important piece of the team’s defense for the next few seasons.

Svoboda also reported that center Jack Roslovic, who is sidelined with a leg injury, won’t return until after Christmas. Roslovic, 26, is also on injured reserve and has missed 18 games with an ankle fracture.

While the Blue Jackets are at a full 23-player active roster, Severson could be activated during the current roster freeze without a corresponding transaction since it would not affect their cap hit. The Blue Jackets could wait to send down a player to be roster-compliant until December 28, when the freeze lifts.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division today:

  • The Devils assigned goalie Nico Daws to the AHL’s Utica Comets Wednesday morning, a team release states. The team promoted Daws from the minors on Sunday with Vítek Vaněček out with an undisclosed injury, but he did not see any playing time, and Vaněček returned to action last night. Daws, 22, missed the first two months of the season after undergoing offseason hip surgery and has been stellar in his return to play with the Comets, posting a .937 SV% and 2.04 GAA in two contests.
  • After clearing waivers a few days back, the Penguins waited to assign winger Vinnie Hinostroza to the minors until yesterday. It was a short-lived move, as Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports reports Hinostroza is back on the NHL roster today. The 29-year-old has a goal and two assists in 13 games with the Penguins this season, his first in Pittsburgh.

Evening Notes: Devils, Svechnikov, Hill

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TSN’s Pierre LeBrun recently shared that New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton could be out through the end of the regular season, after undergoing surgery to repair a pectoral injury. The Devils would gain $9MM in cap space if they moved Hamilton to long-term injured reserve, money that LeBrun says would put the Devils in a position to be aggressive at the Trade Deadline.

The Devils have come back into their own, winning seven of their last 10 games after a more-than-slow start to the year. LeBrun added that the Devils would be in the market for roster pieces, including looking for a new goaltender. New Jersey was rumored to be closely attached to former Vezina Trophy-winner Connor Hellebuyck this off-season but weren’t able to get a deal done before the netminder signed a seven-year extension with the Winnipeg Jets. Hellebuyck’s new deal carries a cap hit of $8.5MM – just under the Devils’ available cap. The deal also carries a no-movement clause for its first three seasons and a modified no-trade clause for the last four.

There’s no doubting the Devils’ need for a goaltender. The team has scored the eighth-most goals in the league through the first half of the year but they’ve allowed the tenth-most goals-against, with both Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid boasting save percentages below .900.

More notes from around the league:

Timo Meier Still Impacted By Previous Injury

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Currently riding a 7-3-0 record in their last 10 games, the New Jersey Devils continue their climb up the Metropolitan Division standings, after the top of their roster was decimated by injury early in the season, prohibiting the team from gaining any sort of consistency. Now with a relatively healthy roster, the resurgence in play has been led by star players Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, with one notable forward still failing to gain any sort of offensive traction.

With only five goals and 11 points in 22 games, and a team-worst -17 rating on the year, Timo Meier has simply failed to deliver on his lofty expectations since coming over to New Jersey at last year’s trade deadline. Even dating back to last year, in 43 regular season games for the Devils, Meier has scored 14 goals and 25 points, not yet a year removed from averaging nearly a point per game with the San Jose Sharks.

Speaking with head coach Lindy Ruff this morning, Devils’ reporter Amanda Stein mentioned that Meier still has some lingering issues relating to an undisclosed injury suffered in November, which Ruff claims is impacting his play. Whatever the case may be, although the team is currently playing well, as the highest-paid forward on the roster, it is imperative that Meier can find a return to form to put the Devils over the top in a wide-open Eastern Conference.

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New Jersey Devils Recall Nico Daws

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Brendan Smith And Austin Watson Fined By DOPS

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The NHL’s Department of Player Safety had a busy day today levying two fines to two different players. New Jersey Devils defenseman Brendan Smith and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Austin Watson will be both lighter in the wallet after the official announcements this afternoon.

Smith was fined for a dangerous trip in last night’s game against the Seattle Kraken. The incident occurred midway through the third period when Smith tripped Kraken center Devin Shore, which led to a minor penalty. Smith’s fine is the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement and will cost him $2,864.58. Smith’s fine comes just a week after he was suspended two games for slashing Philadelphia forward Travis Konecny.

Meanwhile, Watson was fined for an incident that occurred at the end of regulation in a game against the Nashville Predators. Watson fired a puck at Predators defenseman Jeremy Lauzon and was quickly assessed a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct and a 10-minute misconduct. The penalties had little consequence for Watson as the game was over at that point, however, they did initiate a brawl on the ice. Watson will face a fine of $2,022.57 which is the maximum allowed under the CBA. Lauzon appeared injured on the play and struggled to get off the ice as he slammed his stick in frustration, no word yet on his status.

The money from both players’ fines will go to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

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