Devils Activate Luke Hughes, Assign Colton White To AHL
The Devils will welcome back a key part of their back end today against St. Louis. The team announced (Twitter link) that they have activated defenseman Luke Hughes off injured reserve. To make room on the roster, blueliner Colton White has been sent back to AHL Utica.
After two very promising seasons to start his career, 2025-26 hasn’t gone quite as well for Hughes this season. The 22-year-old had a long contract standoff, resulting in a deal only getting done a few days before the start of the season, resulting in him missing the majority of training camp.
Meanwhile, his production hasn’t taken a meaningful step forward despite a jump in ice time to more than 23 minutes per game. Hughes had 47 points in 82 games in his rookie season and 44 in 71 outings in 2024-25 but has been limited to five goals and 21 assists so far this season in 49 appearances. He missed nearly six weeks with a shoulder injury but only wound up missing 10 games overall thanks to the Olympic break.
Notably, when New Jersey had a fully healthy back end earlier this season, trade speculation around Dougie Hamilton picked up. Those talks faded when Hughes went down but once again, the Devils now have their top seven blueliners healthy and available which could ultimately kickstart those trade talks before Friday’s deadline. For now, it’s unclear who will be the scratch as team reporter Amanda Stein relays (Twitter link) there are players dealing with an illness and a decision on who’s out will be made closer to warmups.
As for White, he was recalled when practices resumed during the Olympic break but had served as a healthy scratch since then, keeping his games played total with the Devils this season at 23, where he has four assists in a little over 12 minutes per night of ice time. The 28-year-old has also suited up 10 times with Utica and is still looking for his first AHL point of the season.
Devils Reassign Dennis Cholowski
Feb. 24: Not surprisingly, New Jersey shared today that Cholowski has been re-assigned to AHL Utica. The former first round defenseman was able to practice with the team during the break, but will not add to his 15 game season total with New Jersey at this time. The Devils host Buffalo tomorrow in their first game post-Olympics.
Feb. 18: The Devils made Hameenaho’s and White’s recalls official today. They also summoned defenseman Dennis Cholowski and goaltender Jakub Malek from AHL Utica to serve as extra practice players while they await the return of their Olympians.
Feb. 13: The Devils will recall forward Lenni Hameenaho and defenseman Colton White back to the NHL roster after the Olympic break, per James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now. As things stand, they won’t need to make any corresponding moves.
Hameenaho, 21, appeared in the first nine games of his NHL career in the weeks leading up to the break. The early returns were strong for the 2023 second-round pick. He notched two goals and four points with a +1 rating. The right-winger played his natural position, usually on a line with Arseny Gritsyuk and Cody Glass. That trio controlled a dominant 75% of expected goals at 5-on-5, per MoneyPuck. It’s easy to see why New Jersey wants to squeeze as much momentum as they can out of that group when league play reconvenes later this month.
Hameenaho’s adjustment to the NHL game is a great sign that a rough campaign for the club’s AHL affiliate in Utica hasn’t steered him too far off his development path. The 6’1″ Finn has a 9-13–22 scoring line and a -13 rating through 34 minor-league games, a figure that improbably leads the team in scoring.
He made his offensive ceiling evident with a pair of spectacular post-draft campaigns in his home country for Ässät. In 2024-25, he erupted for 20 goals and 51 points in 58 Liiga games to lead under-20 players in scoring.
Now, as one of New Jersey’s brightest prospects, he appears set to finish out the season in a top-nine role. While playoffs are essentially out of the question, a strong finish should position him well to crack the opening night roster next fall.
White, 28, has spent most of his pro career in the minors but has been a pleasant surprise as a call-up option when needed this season. Injuries have forced the lefty in 23 appearances, in which he’s recorded four assists and a +2 rating. They’re his first games at the top level since suiting up a career-high 46 times for the Ducks in 2022-23.
A stay-at-home specialist, White is averaging just 12:15 of ice time per game but has been a no-fuss option in bottom-pairing minutes. He’s controlled 47.7% of shot attempts and 53.9% of expected goals at even strength, so he’s done a good job of helping the Devils control quality scoring chances against lesser competition.
Minor Transactions: 2/5/2026
The NHL has one night of games left before a three-week break for the 2026 Winter Olympics. That has left many teams scrambling to make sure their waiver-exempt players are assigned to the minor leagues, which will allow them to stay on the ice for up to a dozen games on the AHL calendar. Pro Hockey Rumors will capture those transactions, and more, in the latest minor transactions tracker:
- The most notable prospect headed to the minors is Nashville Predators winger Matthew Wood, per a team release. Wood has spent the bulk of the season with the NHL club after a call-up in late October. He has scored nine goals and 17 points in 46 games, enough to rank seventh among all Predators forwards in scoring. Wood also scored one goal in the first two AHL games of his career earlier this season. He joined the Predators’ roster at the end of the 2024-25 campaign after posting 39 points in as many games with the University of Minnesota. Now, the volume-shooter could find a way to rediscover his scoring touch while also buoying the Admirals’ roster.
- The Washington Capitals joined the goalie run, assigning Garin Bjorklund to the AHL in a corresponding move to Logan Thompson‘s activation from injured reserve. Bjorklund has only played in the minors this season, recording four wins and a .879 SV% in 11 AHL games and four wins and a .929 SV% in seven ECHL games. This move will allow him to continue carving out an AHL role after spending the last three seasons in the ECHL.
- Veteran goaltender Jon Gillies is back in the minors as AHL Syracuse announced that they’ve signed him to a PTO deal. It’s his second stint of the season with the Crunch but the first only lasted one game. Gillies has seen action in parts of five NHL seasons but has played exclusively in the minors over the past couple of years. He has a 2.91 GAA and a .905 SV% in 27 games with ECHL Orlando this season.
- Following yesterday’s game against Edmonton, the Flames announced that they’ve returned winger Matvei Gridin and defenceman Hunter Brzustewicz to AHL Calgary to keep them playing during the break. Gridin has three goals and three assists in 13 games with the Flames this season over a pair of stints with them despite not turning 20 until next month. Brzustewicz, meanwhile, picked up his first career NHL goal late last month and has that marker plus an assist in 18 NHL appearances so far.
- After tonight’s game, the Devils announced that forward Lenni Hameenaho and defenseman Colton White were assigned to AHL Utica. Hameenaho impressed in his first taste of NHL action, picking up two goals and two assists in nine games. White, meanwhile, was a healthy scratch tonight and heads back to the Comets with four assists in 23 games in New Jersey so far this season.
Devils Place Luke Hughes On LTIR, Recall Colton White
Jan. 21st: Confirming the reports regarding the shoulder separation, the Devils announced that they’ve placed Hughes on the long-term injured reserve. Due to the upcoming Olympic break, he won’t be eligible to return until New Jersey’s matchup on February 25th against the Buffalo Sabres. Additionally, the Devils shared that they’ve recalled Colton White, who recently cleared waivers, in Hughes’ stead.
ESPN’s Emily Kaplan went on to update that Hughes will not get surgery at this point, but the young star will need to rehab, facing LTIR through the Olympic break.
Jan. 20th: The New Jersey Devils may have lost one of their best young defensemen for quite some time. According to insider Frank Seravalli, the initial diagnosis on Devils’ defenseman Luke Hughes is that he dislocated his shoulder last night against the Calgary Flames.
New Jersey is believed to be seeking a second opinion on Hughes’ injury, though the team is confident he will miss some time, which team reporter Amanda Stein confirmed after the game. The Devils won’t return to New Jersey until January 27th (they are currently on a Pacific Division road trip), so it could be some time before they publicly reveal the severity of Hughes’ injury.
Although it’s not beneficial to speculate about injuries, it’s difficult to tell from the video exactly what happened. Hughes was racing Flames forward Justin Kirkland for a loose puck, and Hughes immediately dropped his stick and clutched his right shoulder. There was no significant contact on the play.
In terms of a recovery timeline, it largely depends on the severity of the separation. A month ago, Chicago Blackhawks phenom Connor Bedard suffered a dislocated shoulder against the St. Louis Blues, causing Bedard to miss 12 consecutive games. If Hughes is on pace for a similar recovery, he won’t return after the Olympic break in February.
Regardless, the Devils continue their trend of suffering long-term injuries to their high-level performers. Before going down with an injury, Hughes had scored five goals and 26 points in 48 games, averaging 23:20 of ice time per game. He was New Jersey’s leading scorer among defensemen by a healthy margin, and sat behind Dougie Hamilton in CorsiFor% at even strength.
Outside of what the injury means for Hughes specifically, it certainly won’t help the team in their efforts to climb back into the playoff conversation. Although much of the Eastern Conference has been streaky this season, the Devils have been one of the worst-performing teams since December 1st, largely nixing any idea of this simply being a “bad streak”.
In the team’s defense, few organizations would be able to sustain the number of injuries that New Jersey has suffered over the years. Regardless, their window to make the playoffs this season is quickly closing. For comparison, since December 1st, the New York Rangers, who have already punted on the 2025-26 season, have earned 20 points in the standings, whereas New Jersey has only claimed 19 with an additional game played.
Devils Recall Lenni Hameenaho, Assign Colton White To AHL
The Devils have made a pair of roster moves heading into tonight’s game against Carolina. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Lenni Hameenaho from AHL Utica. To make room on the roster, defenseman Colton White was assigned to AHL Utica.
Hameenaho was a second-round pick by New Jersey back in 2023, going 58th overall. He spent the last three seasons with Assat in Finland and had a breakout offensive showing last season, picking up 20 goals and 31 assists in 58 games, good for 15th in league scoring.
That showing was good enough for him to earn his entry-level deal with the Devils back in May. This is Hameenaho’s first NHL recall after spending the first three-plus months of the season in the minors with the Comets. Through 33 games, he has nine goals and 12 assists, good enough to lead the team in scoring. With Ondrej Palat uncertain for tonight due to illness, there could be a chance for Hameenaho to suit up and make his NHL debut.
As for White, he passed through waivers unclaimed earlier today. The 28-year-old has been up with New Jersey for the bulk of the season, getting into 23 games where he has four assists in 12:15 per night of playing time. This was his first NHL action since the 2022-23 campaign when he was with Anaheim. With the Devils back to full health on the back end, keeping him as an eighth defender made little sense to he’ll return to Utica where he’ll have a much more prominent role in their lineup.
Juho Lammikko And Colton White Clear Waivers
Saturday: Both Lammikko and White have cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. However, with Ondrej Palat‘s availability for tonight’s game uncertain due to illness, Lammikko may remain on the active roster for the time being and could suit up against Carolina if Palat isn’t able to play.
Friday: The New Jersey Devils are attempting to jettison a few depth options from their roster. The Devils announced that they’ve placed forward Juho Lammikko and defenseman Colton White on waivers.
Lammikko, 29, is in his first year with the Devils after spending the last three years overseas with the NL’s ZSC Lions. He was very productive while in Switzerland, scoring 48 goals and 112 points in 144 games with a +60 rating. He signed a one-year, $800K contract with New Jersey last summer.
Despite making the team’s opening night roster, Lammikko had to wait until late October to debut due to a lower-body injury. Largely in a bottom-six role, Lammikko has appeared in 22 games for the Devils this season, registering two assists and a -4 rating while averaging 10:10 of ice time per game.
Meanwhile, unlike Lammikko, White did not immediately make the Devils’ roster this year. Still, due to multiple injuries sustained by New Jersey’s defensive core, White was recalled in early November and has been with the team ever since.
The 28-year-old defenseman has appeared in 23 games for the Devils this season (his second stint with the club), registering four assists and a +2 rating while averaging 12:15 of ice time. He’s been a quality player on the defensive side of the puck, averaging a 93.1% on-ice SV% at even strength.
New Jersey did not immediately clarify if either player would be demoted to the AHL’s Utica Comets should they clear, though it’s largely expected. Still, the Devils could simply be looking for additional roster flexibility.
Assuming both Lammikko and White clear waivers and are reassigned tomorrow afternoon, New Jersey’s active roster would be reduced to 21 players. It’s more than likely the team will make additional recalls then, particularly to their forward core.
Devils Reassign Seamus Casey, Recall Colton White
The New Jersey Devils are making a slight change to their defensive core. According to a team announcement, the Devils have reassigned Seamus Casey to the AHL’s Utica Comets and have recalled Colton White in a corresponding roster move.
Today’s roster move ends a 10-day stint in the NHL for Casey, though he only appeared in two contests. He went scoreless in those games with a -3 rating, averaging 18:01 of ice time per game. The University of Michigan alumnus raised a few red flags on the defensive side of the puck, though he managed a CorsiFor% on the positive side of 50%.
Still, even when factoring in his performance from last season, there’s no doubting that Casey could use some more seasoning in the AHL. Since turning professional last year, he’s scored three goals and 19 points in 31 games for the Comets.
Fortunately, the Devils have one of the deepest defensive cores when healthy, so there’s no need to rush Casey to the game’s top level. Keeping that in mind, it’ll be far better for his development if he can play in more situations and have the opportunity for more ice time in Utica.
Meanwhile, at 28 years old, White is no longer considered a prospect. Although New Jersey selected him in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Draft, White took a brief leave from the Devils organization from 2022 to 2024, when he was playing in the Anaheim Ducks organization.
The 2025-26 campaign is the ninth professional year for White. Spending much of his time with the Devils’ AHL affiliates, he’s scored 20 goals and 91 points in 323 games with a -70 rating. In the NHL, he’s tallied 10 assists in 84 games with a -20 rating. Despite spending nearly a decade in the professional circuit, White has yet to play in a postseason contest in either the AHL or NHL.
Waivers: 10/4/25
With a little over 48 hours remaining before season-opening rosters need to be submitted to the league, it’s expected to be a very busy weekend on the waiver wire. Not surprisingly, it’s another big list of players on waivers today as 17 players have been put there, per PuckPedia. Meanwhile, all 12 players on waivers yesterday passed through unclaimed, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Here’s today’s list of players on the wire:
Dallas Stars
F Cameron Hughes
D Vladislav Kolyachonok
Florida Panthers
D Tobias Bjornfot
G Brandon Bussi
New Jersey Devils
F Thomas Bordeleau
F Angus Crookshank
F Brian Halonen
F Zack MacEwen
D Colton White
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
D Alexander Alexeyev
D Ryan Graves
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard
F Bokondji Imama
F Samuel Poulin
San Jose Sharks
Utah Hockey Club
Graves is the headliner in today’s class, primarily due to his contract which has four years left on it. We covered his situation in more detail earlier today.
Among the rest of the players, Bjornfot is no stranger to being in this situation but he has been claimed twice before. He spent most of last season in the minors with Florida but did get into 14 games with the Panthers and has 134 games at the top level under his belt. Alexeyev played sparingly last season with Washington not wanting to risk losing him for nothing on waivers but it appears that Pittsburgh doesn’t have that same level of hesitance. Meanwhile, Kolyachonok was claimed off waivers by the Penguins back in February before being flipped to Dallas over the summer so it’s possible another team might have their eye on him as well. Gilbert signed with the Flyers this summer after splitting last season between Ottawa and Buffalo but while the thought was that he’d at least be able to land a seventh role, that isn’t the case.
As for the forwards, San Jose’s White is by far the most experienced with 323 NHL appearances. However, he has primarily been an AHL player in recent years and it’s likely that he will clear and be assigned to the Barracuda. Poulin was a 2019 first-round pick but hasn’t seen much time with the Penguins, including just seven games last season. But at 24, he’s young enough to potentially be of interest to a team that wants to take a longer look at him. Bordeleau held his own in 27 games with the Sharks in 2023-24 but only played once for them last season before being moved in July in a swap of AHL players. But like Poulin, he’s young enough (23) to potentially draw attention.
These players will be on waivers until 1:00 PM CT on Sunday.
Devils Recall Seven Black Aces
Since the Devils’ AHL affiliate in Utica failed to make the Calder Cup Playoffs, New Jersey is beefing up its postseason roster with seven Black Aces. The team announced they’ve recalled forwards Brian Halonen, Mike Hardman, Nathan Legare, Marc McLaughlin, defensemen Topias Vilen, Colton White, and goaltender Isaac Poulter as practice players for the remainder of their playoff run.
While the group is technically available to play postseason games for the Devils if need be, that’s never the purpose behind Black Ace recalls during the postseason. Instead, they’ll skate with the team to extend their season since they’re not getting any AHL action.
The four forwards each got into NHL games for New Jersey in 2024-25. It marked Legare’s NHL debut and Hardman’s and McLaughlin’s Devils debuts. Halonen, an undrafted free agent signing out of Michigan Tech in 2022, made a couple of appearances in January amid a strong minor-league showing. Halonen led Utica in goals (27) and ranked second in points (40) in 62 showings. He signed a two-year, two-way extension last May, so he’ll be back with the club next season, barring a trade.
Hardman also logged a pair of appearances for New Jersey, one in December and one in April. They were his first in the NHL since March 2023 as a member of the Blackhawks. A depth free agent pickup last summer, he’s also under contract through 2025-26. The 26-year-old scored 18-17–35 in 57 AHL games and had a team-high +11 rating.
Legare, 24, made his NHL debut in December with a trio of appearances and recorded a minus-one rating. He’s already on his third NHL organization. A third-round pick of the Penguins in 2019, he was traded to the Canadiens in August 2023 as part of the Erik Karlsson three-team deal. He spent under a full season in Montreal’s system before they traded him to New Jersey in a minor-league swap ahead of last year’s AHL trade deadline. He’s a restricted free agent this summer and is eligible for arbitration.
McLaughlin arrived in Newark at the trade deadline, acquired from the Bruins for defenseman Daniil Misyul. He played in the Devils’ final two games of the regular season and recorded an assist and a minus-one rating. The 25-year-old center had six assists in 16 games for Utica after the trade and will be a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer, so this could be the end of his short stint as a Devil.
Vilen, 22, has yet to make his NHL debut. New Jersey drafted the rearguard in the fifth round of the 2021 draft and he’s coming off his second full season with Utica. The 6’1″, 194-lb lefty had 1-23–24 with a plus-two rating in 58 games this year and has one season remaining on his entry-level contract.
White was a Devils draft pick back in 2015 and returned to the organization last summer after a two-year stint with the Ducks. He hasn’t played in the NHL since logging a career-high 46 appearances for Anaheim in 2022-23. The 27-year-old depth piece rediscovered his game in Utica after a tough second year with Anaheim’s affiliate in San Diego, posting 4-17–21 in 61 games with a plus-one rating.
Poulter has been on the Devils’ roster more than a few times over the past two seasons as an emergency recall and, despite dressing as a backup for regular-season action, hasn’t touched the ice. He posted a .898 SV%, 2.86 GAA, one shutout, and a 16-13-7 record in 36 showings for Utica this year.
Morning Notes: Halonen, White, Smith
The New Jersey Devils have reassigned forward Brian Halonen and defenseman Colton White to the AHL’s Utica Comets. Both players served as extras for the team’s last few games. White didn’t step into the lineup at all during his three-day recall, while Halonen appeared in one game during his four days on the NHL roster.
Both players have served at the top of Utica’s lineup for the majority of the season. Halonen is leading the team in goals (13) and tied for the lead in points (21) through 31 games. White has also been productive, with 11 points in 26 games ranking him third on the blue-line in scoring behind Seamus Casey and Simon Nemec. Despite that, neither player has cracked into a routine NHL role. Halonen has earned the first three NHL games of his career between this season and last, though he’s still searching for his first point. White has 84 career NHL games and 10 points, but hasn’t played in the top league since 2022-23. With this move, the duo will return to fighting for a full-time move to the top flight with strong play in the minors.
Across the Metropolitan Division, the Carolina Hurricanes have once again assigned defenseman Ty Smith to the AHL, per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. Smith has bounced between rosters all season long. He’s ultimately appeared scored two points in eight NHL games, and 10 points in 13 AHL games on the season. Smith has continued to be productive in the minor leagues, after being 43 points in 63 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season. He’s still a swing away from a routine NHL role, especially behind a loaded Hurricanes defense.