Samu Salminen’s path just got a lot more interesting, and the New Jersey Devils may have a second crack at a player they never signed in the first place.
Salminen is on track to become a free agent in two weeks after four years of NCAA hockey, and the Devils have not shown an interest in bringing in the former third-round pick. That makes sense on paper, at least from New Jersey’s side. Sunny Mehta has already spent the offseason bolstering the center group, trading Jacob Markstrom for Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Boqvist, adding Amadeus Lombardi in a deal with Detroit, and signing Colin White, who posted a point per game in the AHL last season.
That doesn’t mean Salminen is out of the picture. The Colorado ruling that landed this week could reopen the door for college players like him. A Colorado judge ruled that any athlete who started their college career during the 2022-23 season is immediately eligible to return to school for athletics.
“NEW: Judge Charlotte Sweeney has ordered the NCAA to declare eligible all Class of 2022 athletes who exhausted four seasons this spring, per court documents. https://t.co/RvYVUBBhXw pic.twitter.com/NNLBjfCAqqq”
That ruling could matter for Salminen because he just helped the University of Denver win a national championship and plays center, a premium position. College free agents usually draw plenty of attention because they can be signed to entry-level deals, and teams essentially get a free prospect in the process. Salminen fits that mold, but now he may have another route entirely.
He could return to college and sign with the Devils next offseason. Mehta didn’t draft him, so there’s no built-in connection there, but Salminen has shown he can handle a useful role. He was a strong bottom-six center in college and did it at one of the NCAA’s top programs.
There are still plenty of possibilities. Would he go back to Denver?
Would he choose a third NCAA team after his time with the UConn Huskies went badly? Or would he ignore the new eligibility path and sign with an NHL team right away?
Judge Charlotte Sweeney’s ruling said:
"All persons in the United States who began to play in collegiate sports in the 2022-2023 season, competed in NCAA Division I sports, and completed four years of eligibility as defined by the NCAA’s prior rules by the conclusion of the 2025-2026 season, and are therefore barred from playing a fifth season due to the NCAA’s adoption and immediate implementation of the Five-Year Eligibility Rule."
For now, the only certainty is that Salminen has options again. Since he used up his eligibility, he can sign with any NHL team or head back to Europe to keep his career going there. And even with the Devils’ center depth improved, they should still be in the mix.
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Tomas Nosek Leaves Devils After Sudden Career Turnaround
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Noseks path has taken a notable late-career turn, capped by a Stanley Cup with Florida in 2025, and this return to Pardubice appears to mark the next stage of that journey. For New Jersey, it serves as another reminder of how quickly the league can change course for a depth player whose value often shows up in the kind of steady, adaptable work that tends to age well until the final chapters arrive. [Read more 🡒]