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Justin Dowling

Rangers To Sign Justin Dowling To Two-Year Deal

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The Rangers are signing center Justin Dowling during free agency, as first reported by Brennan Klak on X. The contract is a two-year deal at league minimum salary, featuring a one-way structure for the 2025-26 season and a two-way structure for the 2026-27 season, according to PuckPedia.

Dowling comes to New York from their division rival, the New Jersey Devils. Despite spending the first year of his two-year arrangement with the Devils’ AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, Dowling received a larger opportunity at the NHL level this past season due to injuries.

In 52 games, the 34-year-old center scored two goals and seven points, averaging 10:13 of ice time with a 48.3% success rate in the faceoff dot. Although that’s tepid production, even for a fourth-line player, it was the best individual output of Dowling’s seven-year NHL career.

Even after a transitional year for the Rangers, it’s hard to imagine Dowling finding much playing time at the NHL level unless there are struggles with injuries. He would be better utilized with their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, especially considering he is two years removed from scoring 14 goals and accumulating 40 points in 57 games with AHL Utica. Given the nature of his contract, along with Dowling’s contract shifting to a two-way agreement in the second half of the season, it seems the Rangers share this perspective on his future potential.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article. 

Devils Recall Justin Dowling

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The Devils announced yesterday that they have recalled center Justin Dowling from AHL Utica. They had an open spot on the active roster, so no corresponding transaction was necessary. His services were needed in last night’s 4-2 loss to the Blue Jackets with Curtis Lazar, who came off injured reserve Tuesday after undergoing knee surgery, exiting the lineup again due to continued post-surgery swelling, head coach Sheldon Keefe said (via Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers).

Dowling, 34, had been on New Jersey’s roster for most of the last two months as Lazar’s replacement but was waived and reassigned earlier in the week to make room for the latter’s return. He’s in his second year with the Devils after inking a two-year, two-way deal in free agency in 2023 and has been a solid veteran presence on the farm. He’s posted 16 goals, 28 assists and 44 points in 64 games for Utica since last season, including four points in seven games this year.

The Calgary native’s 22 NHL appearances this season in Lazar’s absence are now his most since the 2021-22 season with the Canucks. He has two goals and an assist with a -2 rating, averaging 8:30 per game and winning 47.5% of his faceoffs. The 5’10”, 180-lb pivot has been serviceable for his limited role, controlling 48.8% of shot attempts and 48.6% of expected goals at even strength. Those shares are below New Jersey’s team averages but don’t paint him as anything worse than the replacement-level call-up he’s made out to be.

Dowling can remain on the active roster for up to 30 non-consecutive days or play 10 games before he requires waivers to return to Utica again. He might hit those numbers depending on how much longer Lazar needs a recovery window before he can play again. Keefe said he’ll likely be on the active roster through the Christmas break. If not, he can still be returned to Utica during the roster freeze.

[RELATED: Allowable Transactions During The Roster Freeze Period]

In 122 NHL games in parts of seven seasons with the Canucks, Devils and Stars, Dowling has 22 points and a -18 rating while averaging 10:24 per game.

Devils Activate Curtis Lazar, Justin Dowling Clears Waivers

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12/18: Dowling has cleared waivers and been assigned to the minor leagues, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

12/17: The Devils announced that they’ve activated Curtis Lazar from injured reserve ahead of tonight’s game against the Blues. The team placed Justin Dowling on waivers in a corresponding move, although they already had the roster spot necessary to activate Lazar, so Dowling’s pending reassignment or claim will keep their active roster count at 22.

It’s a much quicker return to action than most expected for Lazar. The 29-year-old sustained a knee injury on Oct. 27 against the Ducks that required surgery. The team said he didn’t have a timeline for a return, hinting that it could be a couple of months or more until he laced up the skates again. Instead, he’s back just over six weeks later with a relatively quick run-up time, considering he only started skating in the past couple of days (at least in terms of public knowledge).

Lazar has been a good fourth-line piece for the Devils since they acquired him from the Canucks at the 2023 trade deadline. He’s scored eight goals and 27 points in 87 regular-season games since becoming a Devil, two of which have come in 12 games this season. He’s bounced between center and wing, winning 48.3% of his draws, and the Devils have controlled 47.5% of shot attempts with Lazar on the ice at even strength.

New Jersey, whose roster is at full health for the first time since Lazar exited the lineup, will have him center their fourth line tonight between Tomáš Tatar and Nathan Bastian, the latter of whom recently returned from jaw surgery. The first-round pick of the Senators back in 2013 recorded a career-high 25 points in a similar role for the Devils last season.

For the most part, Dowling has covered directly for Lazar during his absence. The 34-year-old started the season in AHL Utica after clearing waivers but was recalled in the days following Lazar’s injury. He’s played in every Devils game since, posting two goals and an assist in 21 appearances while averaging 8:30 per game. The 5’10” pivot won 47.4% of his faceoffs and recorded eight blocks and 16 hits.

Dowling is in his second season as a Devil since signing in Newark as a free agent in 2023. He had two goals and two assists in six games with Utica before his recall. He finished fifth on the AHL club in scoring last season with 40 points in 57 games.

New Jersey Announces Several Roster Moves

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Before their game in a few days against the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes, the New Jersey Devils are adding more pieces to their roster. The organization announced they have placed Nathan Bastian on long-term injured reserve retroactive to November 1st, Curtis Lazar on injured reserve retroactive to October 27th, and has recalled Shane Bowers, Justin Dowling, Nolan Foote, and Nick DeSimone from their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets.

None of the moves are shocking from the cap-conscious Devils who’ve been slowplaying Bastian and Lazar’s designation to capture more salary cap space for the trade deadline. With a projected deadline space of almost $10MM, New Jersey could place both players on their respective injury reserve designations and fill out the rest of the roster.

Bastian has the less serious injury of the two after sustaining a jaw injury during a fight with Calgary Flames forward Ryan Lomberg. He was originally expected to miss several weeks with the injury and if he’s fully recovered, can return on November 26th when the Devils take on the St. Louis Blues. The more serious injury concern lies in Lazar who may finish the year with only 12 games played after undergoing a procedure on his left knee keeping him out indefinitely.

Dowling is the only member of the call-up quartet that has already suited up for New Jersey this season. He was originally recalled to replace the lost minutes of Lazar and has tallied one assist in nine games while averaging 8:13 of ice time.

Foote was an obvious choice for a call-up as the former 27th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft. He’s already accrued 23 games of NHL experience in his young career and was leading the AHL Comets in scoring this season with four goals and nine points in 12 games.

The other two recalls are largely AHL-bound veterans at this point in their respective careers although Bowers may carry some prospect pedigree as a first-round pick of the 2017 NHL Draft. He’s seen his scoring drop precipitously since transitioning to professional hockey in the 2018-19 season scoring a career-high 27 points for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles in 2019-20. DeSimone, who reached a one-year extension with the Devils last season, has already been recalled this season but failed to register any games.

The downstream effects of the roster moves will be greatly felt in the AHL. The Comets have yet to earn a victory this season through 13 games and may have to play this weekend’s contests against the Syracuse Crunch and Rochester Americans without three of their top-10 scorers.

Devils Assign Justin Dowling And Nick DeSimone To AHL

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The New Jersey Devils have announced that they are sending forward Justin Dowling and defenseman Nick DeSimone to the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League. New Jersey has a four-day break in the NHL schedule and doesn’t play again until Thursday night when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes. The gap between games likely makes these AHL assignments a cap move; however, we won’t know that for sure until later this week.

The Devils have three players who are currently out of their lineup in forwards Curtis Lazar and Nathan Bastian, as well as defenseman Santeri Hatakka.

Dowling has been anchoring New Jersey’s fourth line alongside Tomas Tatar and Kurtis MacDermid, a spot he has occupied for nine straight games. The 34-year-old appeared in his first NHL game this season at the end of October against his former team, the Vancouver Canucks, and has a single assist since being called up. The journeyman has spent much of his professional career in the AHL but has made NHL stops in Dallas and Vancouver.

DeSimone was brought up to the NHL back on November 8th and has been a healthy scratch during that time. The 29-year-old has yet to appear in an NHL game this season but has dressed in nine AHL games, tallying two assists. DeSimone was acquired by the Devils off waivers from the Calgary Flames back in January of this year.

Devils Recall Justin Dowling

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The Devils announced this morning that center Justin Dowling has been recalled from AHL Utica. No corresponding transaction is necessary with an open spot on the 23-man roster. He comes up to relieve Curtis Lazar, who left Sunday’s game against the Ducks with an undisclosed injury and was already ruled out of tomorrow’s game against the Canucks. The team also said that defense prospect Topias Vilén is cleared to return from his upper-body injury. He’s been activated from season-opening injured reserve and assigned to Utica.

Dowling is in the second season of a two-year, two-way deal he signed with the Devils as a free agent in 2023. The 34-year-old veteran of 14 professional seasons played a pair of NHL contests for New Jersey last year, scoring once and posting a -2 rating. The 5’10” pivot can play all three forward positions and remains an influential offensive producer at the minor league level in his twilight years, including a pair of goals and assists in six games to start this season with Utica.

The Calgary native has precisely 100 career NHL appearances under his belt, coming in parts of six seasons with the Canucks, Devils and Stars. He’s scored seven times and added 12 assists for 19 points, posting a -16 rating and averaging 10:49 per game while winning 49.3% of his draws. He could make it a seventh NHL season with an appearance tomorrow in Vancouver, a likely scenario given Lazar had been lining up at center. The Devils’ extra forward on hand for the weekend game against Anaheim was winger Nathan Bastian.

Meanwhile, Vilén’s start to 2024-25 only gets delayed by a few weeks. The 21-year-old Finn is entering his second season in North America after being selected by the Devils in the fifth round of the 2021 draft. He made 54 appearances for Utica last season, finishing second among their defenders in scoring with 29 points (2 G, 27 A) and an even rating. It was a strong showing for the 6’1″ blue liner, who could be in contention for an NHL recall later on in 2024-25.

Waiver Wire: 10/4/24

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According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman all 17 players on waivers yesterday have cleared. There are again several players to hit the wire today as reported by Friedman:

Anaheim Ducks

F Jansen Harkins

Boston Bruins

G Michael DiPietro
F Vinni Lettieri
D Jordan Oesterle

Florida Panthers

F William Lockwood

Los Angeles Kings

F Taylor Ward

New Jersey Devils

F Justin Dowling
F Mike Hardman
F Samuel Laberge
F Nathan Légaré
F Maxwell Willman

Philadelphia Flyers

F Olle Lycksell
F Anthony Richard

Pittsburgh Penguins

F Emil Bemström
D Nate Clurman
F Jonathan Gruden
F Joona Koppanen
D Filip Král
D John Ludvig
F Samuel Poulin

Tampa Bay Lightning

G Matt Tomkins

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Alex Steeves

Washington Capitals

D Ethan Bear
F Luke Philp
F Michael Sgarbossa

Devils Assign Three Players To AHL

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The Devils assigned center Justin Dowling and defensemen Santeri Hatakka and Daniil Misyul to AHL Utica on Sunday, per a team announcement. New Jersey recalled all three players within the last two weeks, but they’ll now get some additional playing time in the minors with the Devils entering their bye week.

Dowling, 33, is coming off a brief audition in a top-six role. He centered Tyler Toffoli and Dawson Mercer in Saturday’s 6-3 loss to the Lightning, the team’s last outing for 10 days. It was a decidedly failed experiment, as the trio controlled just 20% of expected goals at 5-on-5, per MoneyPuck. Dowling also failed to record a shot and posted a -3 rating in 14:24 of ice time.

The 539-game AHL veteran did score in his only other appearance with the Devils since his recall, a loss to the Hurricanes on Thursday. Since he played less than ten games and has been on the NHL roster for less than 30 days since clearing waivers during training camp, he doesn’t need to pass through them again to return to Utica. There, Dowling has eight goals and 19 points in 30 games, both ranking sixth on the team.

Hatakka, 23, played in three of five games since his recall ten days ago in place of the injured Brendan Smith. The 2019 sixth-round pick of the Sharks had a strong showing, recording an assist and a +5 rating while logging 16:08 per game. His possession metrics don’t point to the sustainability of that goal differential, though, as he recorded a subpar 43.8% Corsi share at even strength that was 6.4% worse than his teammates’ share without him on the ice.

The 23-year-old Misyul did not play in either of the Devils’ two games since he and Dowling were recalled on Thursday. The Belarus-born defender, who was picked three rounds ahead of Hatakka in 2019, returns to Utica without his NHL debut under his belt. He’ll look to continue a decent rookie season in Utica, where he’s recorded 11 points and an even plus-minus rating in 30 games while occupying a shutdown role. Both Hatakka and Misyul are still waiver-exempt.

Dowling could see another recall in a week and a half if Jack Hughes is not ready to return by the end of the All-Star break. After the Devils claimed blue-liner Nick DeSimone off waivers from the Flames last week, though, it’s unlikely both Hatakka and Misyul will be back on the NHL roster when New Jersey returns to game action.

Devils Recall Justin Dowling, Daniil Misyul

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The Devils recalled center Justin Dowling and defenseman Daniil Misyul from AHL Utica on Thursday, per a team announcement. They take the roster spots of center Michael McLeod and defenseman Cal Foote, who took indefinite leaves of absence from the team yesterday.

Dowling, 33, is in the 13th season of his professional career, which he’s spent mostly in the minors. An undrafted free agent signing by the Stars in 2014, he remained in the organization for seven years before joining the Canucks as a free agent in 2021. After completing a two-year deal in Vancouver, Dowling inked another two-year, two-way deal with New Jersey to serve as a veteran farmhand in Utica.

The Devils placed him on waivers to begin the season, and he passed through unclaimed. They’ve recalled him once – a one-day emergency summons on Oct. 29 – but he did not play. He has eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points in 30 games with Utica, a slight dip from his near-point-per-game pace with AHL Abbotsford over the past two seasons but solid nonetheless. He’s tied for fifth on the team in scoring and has a -6 rating.

Dowling’s offensive upside in the NHL is limited, boasting six goals and 12 assists through 98 appearances dating back to 2016. He’s adept in the faceoff circle, though, winning 175 of his 350 draws (a 50% success rate) and has been able to shoulder fourth-line minutes without getting caved in possession-wise. He’ll likely be a healthy scratch on most occasions barring two or more injuries to the Devils’ forward core, and will factor in limited minutes when he does play. 22-year-old Dawson Mercer has momentarily shifted to centering a second line between Ondřej Palát and Tyler Toffoli to help New Jersey cope with McLeod’s absence and an injury to star pivot Jack Hughes.

This is the first NHL recall for Misyul, 23, a third-round pick of the team in 2019. He’s in his first season under contract with the Devils, signing an entry-level deal in May 2023 after spending four post-draft seasons suiting up for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL. A strong skater with a decent long-term NHL outlook as a bottom-pairing utility player, he’s posted three goals and eight assists, along with 33 PIMs, in 30 games with Utica. While the 6-foot-3 Belarusian won’t factor in much on the scoresheet in his first major-league chance, the Devils hope he can occupy a third-pairing role without much fanfare as they continue to deal with injuries to Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler and Brendan Smith on the back end.

New Jersey Devils Place Colin Miller On IR

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Oct. 30: After scratching him for Sunday’s win over the Wild, the Devils have returned Dowling to AHL Utica, per a team announcement. The move is not surprising, given New Jersey does not play again until Thursday.

Oct. 29: Suffering a lower-body injury during a team practice on October 19th, the New Jersey Devils announced that defenseman Colin Miller has officially been placed on the injured reserve, and the team has recalled Justin Dowling to take his place on the roster.

It will not be a huge impact for New Jersey on the ice, as after being acquired from the Dallas Stars this past summer, Miller still has yet to suit up in any games this season, even before the injury took place. Last year in Dallas, Miller was an effective bottom-pairing option for the Stars, averaging almost 17 minutes a night, scoring six goals and 15 assists over 79 games.

With the Devils top-four defensemen essentially set in stone, the team has opted to keep the combination of Brendan Smith and Luke Hughes in the bottom pairing, allowing Hughes to play regular even strength with what the team has deemed a safer defensive partner.

Much like Miller, and potentially even more so, it’s going to be difficult for Dowling to break into the forward unit for New Jersey. He has not played an NHL game since the 2021-22 season with the Vancouver Canucks, and does not appear as an upgrade over any player already in the Devils’ bottom-six forward groups. However, he has gotten off to a strong start in the AHL with the Utica Comets, notching three assists in four games. At the very least, being able to practice with the Devils over the upcoming days will surely help his play once he eventually is sent back down.

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