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Devils Re-Sign Three Players

The Devils made a flurry of signings of players who were restricted free agents. These include goaltender Scott Wedgewood, newly acquired defenseman Mirco Mueller and forward Joseph Blandisi.

Wedgewood, who is now 24 years-old, was signed to a one-year, two-way contract worth $650,000 at the NHL level, according to the Devils official website. He made his pro debut in 2012-13 with the Trenton Devils of the ECHL and has spent most of his career with the AHL Devils, where he is 50-36-16. The press release also notes he has eight shutouts in that span.

He did play in four NHL games in 2015-16, going 2-2-0 with a shootout win included. The Brampton, Ontario native also won a bronze medal with Canada at the 2012 World Junior Championship. He was the 84th overall pick (the Devils’ second choice (3rd round), according to the press release, by New Jersey in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Wedgewood is probably best known for his Seinfeld-inspired mask which includes artwork of series character David Puddy on the side.

The second player announced today as getting a new contract by Devils Executive Vice President/General Manager Ray Shero was Mirco Mueller. Mueller was signed to a two-year, one-way contract with an average annual value of $850,000 according to the press release on the matter put out by the club.

The contract breaks down as $775,000 for 2017-18 and $925,000 for 2018-19. Meuller, a native of Winterthur, Switzerland, was acquired by the Devils back on June 17 of this year from the San Jose Sharks. New Jersey also received the Sharks’ fifth round pick in this year’s Draft, which was number 143 overall and became Aarne Talvitie. The Devils gave up their second round pick (received from Boston – became the 49th overall pick – Mario Ferraro) and their fourth round pick (received from Nashville – traded by San Jose to the Rangers and became pick number 123, Brandon Crawley).

Mueller has also spent most of his time in the AHL since being drafted 18th overall in the 2013 Draft by the Sharks. At the NHL level, he has two goals, four assists for six points and 17 penalty minutes all in 54 games. He also represented his country at the World Junior Championship (both the under-18 and under-20 versions). He is 22 years-old.

The third signing for the Devils today was fan-favorite Joseph Blandisi. The man affectionately known as “Blender” was signed to a two-year, two-way contract worth $680,000 at the NHL level. The average breakdown, according to the press release, is $660,000 for 2017-18 at the NHL level and $700,000 at the NHL level in 2018-19.

Blandisi, 23 years-old, was the Colorado Avalanche’s fourth choice in the 2012 Draft, 162nd overall. He was signed as a free agent by the Devils after an illness kept him from signing with the Avalanche.

The native of Markham, Ontario has played in 27 NHL games and has three goals and six assists for nine points. He also had 26 penalty minutes. In Albany of the AHL, he had eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points and 60 penalty minutes in 31 games. All of this information comes from the Devils’ press release.

Some milestones for Blandisi last season were: his first overtime NHL goal (March 21 versus the Rangers), a four-game point streak from March 9-17 when he had a goal and three assists and being named to the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic (he did not play due to illness).

Overall, three good re-signings. Next up, hopefully Shero can get Damon Severson locked up and the Devils should be good to go.

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Jon Merrill Has Shoulder Surgery; Seinfeld Actor Receives Mask

Two pieces of interesting news from the Devils official website were posted today at devils.nhl.com.

Firstly, defenseman John Merrill had surgery on Monday that was successful. The surgery was to his injured right shoulder and Executive Vice President/General Manager Ray Shero had the following to say about it: “The procedure was performed at the Midtown Surgical Center in New York City by the club’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jonathan L. Glashow. His expected recovery time is approximately four months.”

This recovery time should take Merrill up to training camp. He originally injured the shoulder in March and missed the remainder of the 2015-16 season.

In more uplifting news, there was a piece written by Eric Marin about actor Patrick Warburton, who played David Puddy on the TV sitcom Seinfeld, receiving his own replica of Scott Wedgewood’s goalie mask.

According to Marin, the mask was created by David Gunnarsson of DaveArt, who also created the original for Wedgewood. Marin mentions that Gunnarsson is a huge fan of Puddy.

The mask features Warburton, as Puddy, in the guise of “the Facepainter.” In this episode, Puddy, a Devils fan, goes to a Devils-Rangers playoff game at MSG with Jerry and the gang and with his face painted up in Devils colors. For the record, the Devils won that game, although Kramer is quick to note that the series was not over yet. Hilarity ensues as Puddy utters his famous catchphrase “You gotta support the team!” This catchphrase became a hashtag that Gunnarsson used in his Facebook post on the subject.

Puddy is arguably the world’s most famous fictional Devils fan and Wedgewood is a very real Seinfeld fan. Marin says that the 23-year-old Wedgewood became a fan of the show, which went off the air in 1998, when his older brother Mark got him into it. He has watched the entire run of 180 episodes since then.

Warburton, for his part, tweeted that “This is most awesome! Love it!” and, according to Marin, Warburton said “It will have a place of honor on my bar.”