The Devils shuffled their roster Wednesday, and the biggest move was Nick Bjugstad landing on LTIR after being shifted from regular injured reserve.
That change came after New Jersey sent veteran winger Stefan Noesen to AHL Utica once he cleared waivers and recalled prospect defenseman Anton Silayev from the Comets. Silayev’s trip to the NHL roster was only on paper, though, and the timing mattered.
According to PuckPedia, the recall was tied directly to Bjugstad’s LTIR placement. By making the move this way, the Devils created a bit more cap flexibility down the line, even if it comes with a short-term hit to the roster. Because Noesen carries a higher base salary than Silayev, New Jersey could not fully maximize its LTIR capture after these transactions.
The more important wrinkle involves Silayev’s contract. He has $850K in performance bonuses, and getting him onto the NHL roster before Bjugstad went on LTIR means his future cost is locked in at his $1.075MM base cap hit if he is called up for real later this season.
Without that sequencing, his cost would have been $1.925MM, which includes salary and bonuses and would have made a later recall much tougher to manage. Silayev is headed back to Utica for now, but the paper promotion improves the Devils’ chances of bringing him up later.
Bjugstad’s LTIR move also confirms the timeline on his injury. He is expected to miss at least the first half of the season after pectoral surgery to repair damage from an offseason training injury.
The veteran, acquired last season, was supposed to get his first full year with New Jersey, but that plan is on hold. The recovery window was four to six months from the time of surgery, which puts his return somewhere between late January and late March.
In Other News...
Devils Get A Key Blue-Line Boost With Kovacevic Back
Johnathan Kovacevic is back in the mix for New Jersey, with the Devils activating the defenseman off injured reserve ahead of their upcoming game against Vancouver. It gives the blue line a needed reinforcement and puts Kovacevic on the verge of beginning his second season in the five-year extension he signed with the club, after spending the offseason recovering from knee surgery.
For the Devils, the timing matters because Kovacevic brings a steady NHL track record into a group that can use every healthy body on the back end. He has logged 258 regular-season games with 53 points and has already skated in three playoff games for New Jersey, so his return adds both experience and a familiar piece to the lineup picture even as the next step remains to be seen. [Read more 🡒]
Jake Allen Gives Devils Fans A Milestone Worth Appreciating
Jake Allens path to New Jersey has already given the Devils a goalie with a long track record and a steadying presence in the room. By the time he arrived through a March 2024 trade after stops in St. Louis and Montreal, he had spent seven seasons with the Blues, including a Stanley Cup run in 2019, and the Devils liked him enough to lock him in with a five-year extension in 2025.
Allens latest reminder of just how much he has seen came early this season, when he reached his 500th NHL start. For a team that values stability in goal, that kind of mileage matters, and it puts him in a pretty select class among NHL netminders even before you get to what he can still bring every time he takes the crease. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Delivered The Kind Of Win Fans Needed To See
A shaky start gave way to something closer to the response the Devils had been looking for, as New Jersey shook off an early Vancouver goal and rolled to a 4-1 win. The power play looked sharper, the pace felt more connected, and the lineup produced the kind of balanced scoring that has been missing through some uneven stretches.
Nico Hischier was at the center of it, driving the attack while Jesper Boqvist and Jesper Bratt added support on the scoreboard. For a team trying to steady itself after a rough run, the bigger takeaway was not just the result but the way the Devils handled the game after the opening punch, a sign that they may be inching back toward the level fans expected to see. [Read more 🡒]