In effort to get down to the 23-man roster limit, the New Jersey Devils placed Brian Boyle, Travis Zajac, and Michael McLeod on IR, while sending Joseph Blandisi, Nick Lappin, John Quenneville and Brian Strait to Binghamton.
Some thoughts on the moves:
1) Brian Gibbons making the final roster despite being placed on waivers Monday surprised some people but moves like this aren't uncommon. For example, Calgary waived Garnet Hathaway yet he was still on their final roster. He will likely be sent to the AHL in the coming days and since he's already cleared waivers (like Gibbons), they have 30 days to send him to the minors without needing to go through the process again. There are always weird paper transactions at this time of year to manipulate the salary cap and maximize the amount teams can take on at the deadline. I think keeping Gibbons is one of those.
2) If Blandisi's assignment to the AHL is not a paper move, I'll have a problem with it. He played his ass off in the preseason and posted impressive numbers across the board. He tallied four points in four games and the Devils out-chanced their opponents 25-9 with him on the ice at 5v5. It's not like he was spoonfed offensive zone starts (quite the opposite, actually) or big minutes with upper-echelon linemates, either. He made the most out of the opportunity and was unquestionably one of the best 13 forwards in camp. He deserves a roster spot.
3) Blake Coleman played well in the preseason but I don't think he should be sticking around for the long haul (if that is the plan). He doesn't bring much offense to the table and I think they already have a much better version of Coleman in Brian Boyle, who will hopefully return to full health very soon. If the Devils are legitimately keeping a role player over someone with more offensive upside like Quenneville and/or Blandisi, that will be disappointing.
4) I'm not surprised to see Dalton Prout on the final roster. He is slimmed down, more mobile, and actually looks like he'll be a useful depth piece on the back end.
5) I think McLeod is just sticking around so he can work with team doctors to get himself right. Once he's cleared and ready to play, I fully expect he'll be sent back to Mississauga for another year of development in the OHL.
Recent Posts Devils sign Jimmy Hayes