The New Jersey Devils have added a new piece to their staff, and it points straight at one of the team’s biggest problem areas.
Victor Kuri now appears on the Devils’ staff directory as a “Reconditioning Therapist/Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach,” giving New Jersey a specialized role focused on helping players work back from injury. The strength and conditioning side is standard across hockey, but the reconditioning piece is the more notable one - a job built around rehabilitation after a player gets hurt.
Kuri comes to the Devils after spending most of the past decade in baseball. He worked with the St.
Louis Cardinals and, most recently, the Houston Astros. With the Cardinals, he served as Rehab Coordinator from 2021 to 2025, and he held a similar position for the Astros’ minor-league team.
That background lines up with where the Devils have needed help most. In baseball, shoulder injuries are common, and New Jersey has had plenty of issues in that area. The Hughes brothers have both dealt with their share of shoulder problems and corrective surgeries, while Jesper Bratt had shoulder surgery an off-season ago.
Beyond that, the Devils have been hit hard across the roster. Brett Pesce missed significant time in 2025-26 with an MCL injury.
Johnathan Kovacevic was sidelined by an ACL tear. Arseny Gritsyuk missed time with an upper-body injury, Stefan Noesen dealt with a knee issue, Cody Glass was out with an upper-body injury, and Jack Hughes was limited by a hand injury.
On top of that, there were a string of smaller injuries and setbacks among depth players that kept New Jersey from rolling out a full lineup for much of the season.
Given that run of bad luck, this is the kind of addition the Devils can use. Health has been the constant issue holding them back in recent seasons, and the list of setbacks has only made that more obvious. Health hurt them in 2023-24, in the playoffs in 2024-25, and again last season.
So while it may not be the flashiest move, Kuri’s arrival feels timely. More help on the sports science and recovery side is exactly the sort of support the Devils have been missing.
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Looking around the division, the Devils can feel good about where they stand down the middle. Hughes and Hischier are viewed as two of the top centers in the Metro, and several of their division rivals do not have anyone at that level anchoring the position, which gives New Jersey a matchup advantage fans have every reason to circle for next season. [Read more 🡒]