Just catching up on some odds and ends on this Friday.
The Devils cut their roster down to 31 players today according to Sam Kasan of the Inside the Devils Blog on the team’s website. He said that they must be down to 23 players by Monday at 5 PM.
According to Kasan, Nikita Okhotiuk was assigned to the Utica Comets of the AHL.
They also placed “Chase DeLeo on waivers with the intent to assign him to Utica as well.”
Centerman Mark Jankowski was released from his professional tryout.
In addition, AJ Greer – who was placed on waivers Thursday – cleared. He will now be assigned to Utica.
One other move mentioned by the Devils PR team was that forward Frederik Gauthier was signed to a one-year contract. The contract is worth $800,000 (NHL level) and $175,000 (AHL level). It is $200,000 guaranteed.
Gauthier was on a PTO, having played two games with the Arizona Coyotes last season. He also played 18 games with the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League, notching two goals and five assists (seven points).
He was with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2015-16 to 2019-20, where he had 13 goals and 18 assists totaling 31 points and 47 penalty minutes over 170 regular season games. The press release notes that he has played in eight Stanley Cup Playoffs games.
The native of Laval, Quebec, 26-years-old, was the Leafs’ first first-round pick (21st overall) in the 2013 Draft. He played with the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL in juniors.