- Nico Hischier won’t be in the New Jersey Devils’ lineup tonight, as he’s still not ready to return, according to team reporter Amanda Stein. The young forward was at practice between Yegor Sharangovich and Jesper Bratt but will miss at least the opener. The Devils face the Philadelphia Flyers tonight and then go home to welcome in the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, where Hischier might be able to debut.
Devils Rumors
Andy Greene Signs One-Day Contract With New Jersey Devils, Retires
The New Jersey Devils have brought back a long-time captain for one more day. Andy Greene has signed a one-day contract with the team to retire as a member of the Devils, after a 16-year NHL career.
Tom Fitzgerald, general manager of the Devils, explained exactly what the veteran defenseman meant to the organization:
Andy was a bedrock for New Jersey during his 14 years and developed into an exceptional leader and what it meant to be a Devil. He was a consummate professional when times were hard and a representation to his teammates in the locker room. It’s only right that he announces his retirement from the National Hockey League as a member of the Devils and we thank him for all that he’s done on and off the ice for the organization.
Greene, 39, was an undrafted free agent signing out of Miami University (Ohio), and managed to play 1,057 games in an impressive career. More than 900 of those came with the Devils, where he developed into a defensive force, and leader in the locker room. From 2015 to 2020, he served as captain of the team, and even his last moments were positive for the organization.
He netted the team a second-round pick from the New York Islanders, where he would reunite with Lou Lamoriello, a pick that would then be used to land the team Ryan Graves.
So it is curtains for the veteran, and an impressive career to look back on. In his 1,000-plus games, he registered 52 goals and 264 points. He had three long playoff runs, reaching the Stanley Cup final in 2012 with the Devils and the Conference Finals in back-to-back seasons with New York.
New Jersey Devils Send Simon Nemec To AHL
Second-overall pick Simon Nemec appeared to make the New Jersey Devils roster out of camp, but the way he had been talking about it, there seemed to be something more to his stay. Today, the team has sent Nemec down to the AHL and recalled Kevin Bahl, confirming it was just a salary cap maneuver to maximize the long-term injury relief pool created by moving Jonathan Bernier’s contract there.
Nemec, 18, is still extremely raw as a prospect, despite playing the last few seasons in a men’s league in Slovakia. A tendency to rove all over the ice and sometimes forget about his defensive responsibilities is what makes him special, but also something he’ll have to polish up before making a real impact at the NHL level.
He’ll be able to do that in the AHL, where he should get huge minutes with the Utica Comets for the time being. Nemec even admitted as such when speaking with Mike Morreale of NHL.com yesterday. He explained that “Utica is fine for me because I need to play a lot of minutes,” and said he is perfectly fine with the demotion. In fact, that’s what Nemec has maintained since the moment they drafted him. He wants to play in North America this season, regardless of whether that meant the NHL or AHL.
Not only does Nemec need work, but Bahl has also played his way onto the roster with a strong preseason performance. The pressure from being the return for Taylor Hall seems to have waned a bit and now expectations for the 22-year-old defenseman have leveled off. While Bahl may never be a true top-pairing option, his 6’6″ frame and good mobility suggest he’ll be able to handle himself just fine at the higher level. In 17 games last season with the Devils he showed flashes of that potential and this season might be able to shake free of any doubts.
Nemec will be back, in time, but for now he’ll be focused on his development in the minor leagues. Fans of the Comets certainly won’t complain, as they get to see the youngster up close.
Nico Hischier, Tyce Thompson Placed On Injured Reserve
- Some unfortunate news for New Jersey Devils fans: captain Nico Hischier has been placed on injured reserve, along with forward Tyce Thompson, after the former left a preseason game against the Canadiens on September 26 with what was classified as “cramping” at the time. His status is now week-to-week with a hamstring injury. Additionally, the team has moved goalie Jonathan Bernier to long-term injured reserve as he continues to recover from a hip procedure last year that ended his season prematurely.
Waivers: 10/07/22
It’s an important day for waivers as the regular season approaches, and several potential targets are available. With the preseason wrapping up, teams will try to sneak players through at the last second and keep them in the organization for the time being.
Many of these placements are due to salary cap restrictions or LTIR machinations to give teams maximum flexibility as the season begins. Everyone from yesterday’s list cleared.
Here is today’s group of waiver additions:
Carolina Hurricanes
Dallas Stars
Edmonton Oilers
Mattias Janmark
Dmitri Samorukov
Minnesota Wild
New Jersey Devils
Philadelphia Flyers
Kevin Connauton
Troy Grosenick
St. Louis Blues
Martin Frk
Klim Kostin
Matthew Highmore
Vancouver Canucks
Winnipeg Jets
Waivers: 10/04/22
After all of the players from yesterday cleared, there is a new batch of talent on waivers today. Placement here is usually indicative of a training camp cut, though not necessarily. It gives teams the option to send a player to the minor leagues, but that doesn’t have to happen right away. Until a player spends 30 days on the active roster or plays in ten regular season games, they won’t have to clear waivers again.
Here are the players on waivers today:
Boston Bruins
Oskar Steen
Nick Wolff
Connor Carrick
Buffalo Sabres
Chicago Blackhawks
Luke Philp
Nicolas Beaudin
Dylan Sikura
Brett Seney
Columbus Blue Jackets
Minnesota Wild
Montreal Canadiens
Alex Belzile
Anthony Richard
Mitchell Stephens
New Jersey Devils
Tyler Wotherspoon
Robbie Russo
Joseph Gambardella
Jeremy Groleau
Pittsburgh Penguins
Vancouver Canucks
Collin Delia
John Stevens
Noah Juulsen
Brady Keeper
Guillaume Brisebois
Thomas Hickey, James Neal Released From PTOs
With training camps starting to wrap up and the regular season about to begin, some professional tryouts are coming to an end. Thomas Hickey and James Neal have been released by the New Jersey Devils and Columbus Blue Jackets respectively, the latter according to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.
Neal, 35, did a bit in the preseason of what he has always done – score goals – but it wasn’t enough to earn an NHL contract with the Blue Jackets. The veteran forward embraced a minor league role with the Springfield Thunderbirds last season and seems likely to do the same this year, if he wants to continue his career.
Over parts of 14 seasons in the league, Neal has 296 goals and 559 points in 869 games, reaching the 20-goal mark in each of his first ten years. While that NHL production has vanished recently, he did score 14 goals and 26 points in 28 games for the Thunderbirds and helped them reach the Calder Cup finals (which they ultimately lost).
Hickey, meanwhile, was also playing the minor league game last season, spending most of the year with the Bridgeport Islanders and Ontario Reign. The 33-year-old defenseman has more than 450 games played at the NHL level but quickly fell out of favor after signing a hefty contract with the New York Islanders.
With just seven NHL appearances since the start of the 2019-20 season, it seems unlikely that Hickey will get another full-time role at this point. If he wants to continue, perhaps another team will give him a chance on a two-way deal for minor league depth.
Update On Nico Hischier
- As relayed by Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com, New Jersey Devils coach Lindy Ruff told the media that the team will be without captain Nico Hischier as he recovers from a hamstring strain. Hischier was pulled out of Monday’s preseason contest against the Montreal Canadiens due to what the team called cramping, and now it seems the injury is a bit more significant than it originally had seemed to be. Ruff said that Hischier will be re-evaluated in ten days, and at that point the full picture of Hischier’s health will likely be a lot more clear.
Evening Notes: PWHPA, Hischier, Hodgson
There’s some exciting news coming on the women’s hockey front. In an interview with The Hockey News’ Ian Kennedy, Canadian National Team captain Marie Philip-Poulin confirmed that the current touring structure for PWHPA games will turn into a league for the 2023-24 season, bringing two professional women’s leagues back into the fold for the first time since the CWHL and NWHL were both active.
The PWHPA Dream Gap Tour is the main pool of talent that Canada and the United States select for their national teams. They’ve effectively been limited to playing exhibition games without a league structure governing competition, although that shouldn’t diminish the level of talent and competition on display. A league structure should bring more financial stability and a better plan for growing the women’s game in North America.
- New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier left the team’s in-progress preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens at the first intermission. The team reports that Hischier’s absence is simply due to cramping and that he won’t return to the game for precautionary reasons. Hischier registered a shot on goal and played 6:24 in the first period, his preseason debut.
- Philadelphia Hockey Now’s Sam Carchidi tabs winger Hayden Hodgson as a candidate to crack the Flyers’ roster out of camp this year. Hodgson made waves in the Flyers organization this season after a breakout year in AHL Lehigh Valley, earning an NHL contract near the end of the season and a six-game call-up, where he registered three points. Hodgson hadn’t even played in the AHL since 2017-18, spending every season since then entirely in the ECHL (and partly in Slovakia).
Latest On Damon Severson
- New Jersey Devils defenseman Damon Severson has spent the entirety of his eight-year professional career in New Jersey, but with his contract set to expire at the end of this season, his time in red and black could be coming to an end. Severson told the media today, as relayed by James Nichols of The Fourth Period, that contract talks between him and the Devils have not yet begun. That doesn’t mean that a deal won’t get done between now and next summer, of course, but with the signing of Dougie Hamilton, the recent Jonas Siegenthaler extension, the acquisition of John Marino, and the eventual arrivals of Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec, it’s definitely possible that the Devils don’t see room for Severson long-term in their top-four.