The Wayne Train has been rerouted to Western New York.
Wayne Simmonds was traded today (the NHL Trade Deadline) to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
The Devils released a statement where they said that “New Jersey will retain 50% of Simmonds’ salary in the transaction.
The condition to the pick is that “if Simmonds plays in 10 regular-season games and Buffalo makes the playoffs, the selection then becomes Buffalo’s 2021 fourth-round selection.”
Simmonds signed a one-year deal with the Devils on July 1, 2019. He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. Simmonds had just played in his 900th NHL game this past Thursday versus San Jose.
According to the Devils’ press release, the team now has eight picks in 2021. Their own pick’s in rounds one, three, four, five and six. They also have the Islanders’ second-round pick, and the Coyotes’ third-round pick (conditional) from the Taylor Hall trade and the Sabres’ fifth-round pick (conditional) from this deal.
There is still time, as the deadline approaches at 3 PM, for the Devils to make another deal. Rumors have been swirling around both Sami Vatanen and Kyle Palmieri. We will see what develops there.
In another roster move done yesterday, the Devils signed Julian Melchiori to an NHL contract worth $700,000 at the NHL level and $150,000 at the AHL level. The contract runs through 2019-20. He was then placed on waivers after signing the contract. If not claimed, he will most likely stay in Binghamton for now.
He signed an AHL contract with Binghamton on July 22, 2019 according to the blog post on the Devils’ website by the PR team.
He has five goals, eight assists for 13 points in 54 games in Binghamton according to the blog post.