Posted on

Devils Make More Roster Moves

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.

Posted on

Devils Make More Roster Adjustments

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.