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Mueller Signed to One-Year Contract

Restricted free agent defenseman Mirco Mueller has been brought back into the Devils’ fold, signing a one-year contract worth $1,400,000.

The 24-year-old blueliner returns after posting a goal and ten assists (11 points) in 2018-19. He also had 17 penalty minutes all in 53 games for New Jersey last year according to the press release put out by the Devils today.

Originally a San Jose Shark draft pick, Mueller is entering his fifth NHL season and third with the Devils. He was acquired by the Devils from the Sharks prior to the 2017-18 season along with San Jose’s fifth round pick in the 2017 Draft in exchange for the Devils’ second and fourth round picks in 2017 according to hockey-reference.com.

The native of Winterthur, Switzerland has played in 135 NHL regular season games, scoring three goals and 18 assists (21 points) and registering 38 penalty minutes – all according to the press release.

In other Devils organizational news, according to sportslogos.net’s Chris Creamer, the Devils’ ECHL affiliate has unveiled a logo for their fifth anniversary.

The Adirondack Thunder released the logo today, as this upcoming season (2019-2020) will mark their fifth season in Glens Falls, New York. They moved to the New York town after swapping spots with the AHL’s Adirondack Flames. The Flames moved west to become the Stockton Heat – based in California, and the Thunder (formerly the Stockton Thunder) moved east to take up residence in Glens Falls at the Civic Center (known as the Cool Insuring Arena).

They became a Devils affiliate two seasons ago after serving the Calgary Flames prior.

According to Creamer, the logo features “the club’s logo within a circle, the team name surrounding it and their establishment year of 2015 below. This design is placed on a large silver, beveled “V” – the Roman Numeral for 5, which it itself [sic] is encased within a red triangular shield. A black banner showing the current “2019-2020” season jets out on either side behind the shield.”

Creamer said that the Thunder will only be wearing this logo as a patch “on the shoulder of their third uniform, it will not be featured on their home or road sweaters.” He also said that the team “plans on having merchandise available with the logo in time for the season.”

To view the logo and to read more, please head over to sportslogos.net.

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Clowe Named Head Coach of ECHL’s Growlers

Not sure how this slipped under my radar, but I wanted to get this in on the site. Back on June 20, the Newfoundland Growlers, an expansion team in the ECHL that will serve as an affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, annouced Ryane Clowe as their first head coach.

Clowe is a Newfoundland native and spent the last two seasons coaching with the Devils on John Hynes’ staff. He retired from NHL competition back in 2016 following battles with concussions.

He was looking to get deeper into coaching and this is a great opportunity for him as a head coach. The Maple Leafs said in a press release on June 20 that he would be attending “the Maple Leafs development camp next week as well as training camp with the Maple Leafs and Marlies in September.”

Both Clowe and new Leafs GM Kyle Dubas thanked Devils GM Ray Shero and Hynes as well as the Devils organization for allowing Clowe to pursue this opportunity with the Growlers, who will play out of St. John’s, Newfoundland. Clowe was grateful for the Devils giving him an opportunity to get his feet wet as a coach in the NHL.

Clowe’s connection to the area (he “was recently inducted into the Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame” according to the press release) and the aptitude that he has shown for coaching in his short time behind the bench for the Devils made him a natural fit as he begins his climb up the ladder to try to land a National Hockey League coaching gig.

Clowe, 35, is the second assistant coach to move on from the Devils in about a month. Assistant Geoff Ward joined Bill Peters’ staff in Calgary back in May.

Congratulations to Ryane Clowe as he begins this next chapter of his professional career.