The New Jersey Devils have added some scoring depth and locked it in for the long haul, acquiring Amadeus Lombardi from the Detroit Red Wings and then signing him to a two-year extension.
The trade, announced June 25, sent Lombardi to New Jersey in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick. A few days later, on July 3, the Devils confirmed the 23-year-old forward had agreed to a new deal that changes his financial picture right away and again next season.
The contract is structured as a two-way deal in its first year and a one-way deal in its second. In 2026-27, Lombardi will make the league-minimum $850K at the NHL level and $175K in the AHL. In 2027-28, he’ll earn $900K no matter where he plays.
That’s a sharp jump from what he was working with on his entry-level contract. Lombardi has not yet made his NHL debut, and because his deal slid one year, he played 2025-26 on an $82.5K AHL salary with no signing bonus. This extension gives him an immediate raise and sets him up for another one a year from now.
Lombardi was originally taken 113th overall by Detroit in the 2022 NHL Draft. He had already shown promise with the OHL’s Flint Firebirds, putting up 18 goals and 59 points in 67 games before breaking out in a big way the following season with 45 goals and 102 points in 67 games, along with a plus-23 rating.
He then moved into the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins and kept building his case as an offensive player. His first season there was modest - five goals and 26 points in 70 games - but he has since turned into a point-per-game scorer.
Over his last two seasons in Grand Rapids, Lombardi produced 35 goals and 82 points in 91 games, though injuries were part of the picture and he finished with a minus-2 rating. The Devils are looking for more scoring in their bottom six, and Lombardi should get a real chance to earn a spot out of training camp next season.
For Detroit, the move also brought back a 2026 fourth-rounder, and the Red Wings now have the 108th overall pick. Their original 2026 fourth-round selection had already been dealt last summer in the John Gibson package and later ended up with Boston in the Jeffrey Viel trade. With several prospects in a similar lane to Lombardi, Detroit was willing to move him for a better opportunity elsewhere.
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Red Wings Just Closed The Door On A Prospect Fans Know Well
The Devils have added another young forward to the organizational mix, signing Lombardi to a two-year contract after acquiring his signing rights from Detroit for a 2026 fourth-round draft pick. It is the kind of low-cost move teams make when they still believe there is something to uncover in a player who has spent time developing in the AHL, and Lombardis path has run through Grand Rapids since the Red Wings drafted him in the fourth round in 2022.
For New Jersey, the appeal is obvious enough: a 23-year-old forward with some pro seasoning and a fresh opportunity in a new system. The contract gives the Devils a bit of flexibility while also signaling that they saw enough value to part with a future pick, even if the finer points of the deal leave room for the team to manage his role carefully as he tries to push toward his NHL debut. [Read more 🡒]