Max Willman

Joining the team shortly before the start of the regular season, the New Jersey Devils announced they have recalled forward Maxwell Willman from their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, and he will join the team as they take on the Chicago Blackhawks in their next game. Willman is likely getting this call up due to the recent injury to star forward for New Jersey, Jack Hughes.

Over the last two seasons, Willman had spent his time less than 100 miles from the Prudential Center, suiting up for the Devils’ division rival, the Philadelphia Flyers. Joining the team as a college free agent in 2021, Willman played in 50 games for the Flyers, scoring four goals and two assists.

Playing in Utica to start this season, Willman has already broken his point production over two years in Philadelphia, scoring four goals and three assists for the Comets in seven games. Although he will be joining the team on their trip to Chicago, depth forward Chris Tierney will likely get the nod in the lineup over Willman.

Nevertheless, it is detrimental for the Devils to lose a player of Hughes caliber even for a game or two, given how much they rely on his talents on the ice. However, when a star player goes down, it always becomes an opportunity for another player to prove his worth at the NHL level.

Call it a successful PTO for winger Max Willman.  While he finds himself on waivers today, it’s for a good reason.  The Devils announced (Twitter link) that he has signed a one-year, two-way contract.  New Jersey Hockey Now’s James Nichols relays (via Twitter) that the contract pays $775K in the NHL, $135K in the minors, and has a total guarantee of $150K.

The 28-year-old spent the last four years in Philadelphia’s system, primarily playing at the AHL level.  However, he got into 41 games with the Flyers back in 2021-22 where he picked up six points.  Last season, however, his time in the NHL was limited to just nine appearances.  However, he did chip in with 23 points in 54 games with AHL Lehigh Valley.

Willman became an unrestricted free agent this summer and wasn’t able to land a guaranteed contract, resulting in him being one of many to go the PTO route.  He becomes one of the few to be converted to an NHL deal and assuming he clears waivers (a likely outcome since he couldn’t get a full deal in free agency), he’ll be assigned to AHL Utica where he’ll look to play his way into a recall when injuries strike.

Free agent forward Max Willman will attend the New Jersey Devils training camp on a PTO, the team said today.

Willman, 28, had spent the last four seasons in the Philadelphia Flyers organization after going unsigned by the Buffalo Sabres, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2014 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut in the 2021-22 season and has amassed 50 games in the last two seasons, scoring four goals and adding two assists for six points while playing a limited role. While a strong skater, that hasn’t translated into successful backchecking at the NHL level – he’s been eaten alive in terms of possession in his limited usage, although that’s likely exacerbated by his excessive defensive zone start rate of 66.7% at even strength since making his NHL debut.

He’s posted solid middle-six production in the minors, recording 32 goals, 35 assists and 67 points in 142 games with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms since 2019. He’s found his way into mainstay territory in AHL lineups and can shuffle around all forward positions, making him a valuable farmhand for the Flyers in recent years.

That being said, his chances of landing an NHL role with the Devils out of camp are near zero, so he’ll be battling for either a two-way deal or an AHL contract with their affiliate, the Utica Comets. The Devils’ 42 contracts sit well below the 50-contract limit, and they do have just nine forwards signed and projected to serve in the minors. There’s certainly room for Willman’s services in Utica.