In a very busy Sunday, we have more news that I could have rolled into my last post but did not see in time.
Forward Jesper Boqvist and goaltender Akira Schmid have been assigned to the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League as per Sam Kasan of the Devils’ official website.
This whittles the New Jersey roster down to 29 players – Kasan said that the team must get down to 23 players by Monday at 5 PM.
One player who will be staying is Jimmy Vesey. The forward was signed to a contract earlier today according to the Devils PR team and announced by Executive Vice President and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald. He was on a Professional Try Out (PTO) during training camp and the preseason.
His contract is for one-year and is an NHL contract worth $800,000.
Vesey played 50 NHL games last season split with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks. Prior to that, he played for the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Rangers.
His most productive NHL seasons came with the Rangers, especially 2018-19, when he had 17 goals and 18 assists for a total of 35 points.
Vesey is now 28-years-old – and left-handed shot with totals of 64 goals and 56 assists for 120 points over 354 regular season games. He also has 92 penalty minutes. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he has a goal and 12 assists for 13 points, making his only postseason appearance in 2017.
A Boston-native, he was drafted by the Nashville Predators in 2012 (third round, 66th overall), but chose to sign with New York out of Harvard University. In college, he was the 2016 Hobey Baker Award winter as the top men’s hockey player in the NCAA with 24 goals and 22 assists (46 points) over 33 games for the Crimson.