The New Jersey Devils roster is now set for the 2016-17 season. See who made the team, and who didn’t.
The Devils were down to 25 players on the active roster before Tuesday’s practice, and needed to cut that down to 23 by the 5PM deadline. Meet your 2016-17 New Jersey Devils here, as announced on the team website.
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The Devils ended up going with 14 forwards and 7 defensemen. The final roster decisions got even more complicated Tuesday when the Devils added forward P.A. Parenteau through waivers, who automatically took up a roster spot that would have went to another hopeful player otherwise. Luckily (and surprisingly), no player received the bad news that they’d be sent down to Albany. Due to Jon Merrill (finger), Kyle Quincey (lower body), Luke Gazdic (foot) and Sergey Kalinin (illness) all being placed on IR, no one is headed to Albany just yet. Most notably, Steve Santini, Miles Wood and Blake Speers, survived all cuts and made the team.
Seth Helgeson was placed on waivers today even though he made the roster, but chances are he’ll still be around and eligible to go down to Albany if need-be once he clears tomorrow. Whether he is sent to Albany or not will depend on if Quincey is healthy for the season opener this Thursday. He did fully practiced today, so that remains to be seen.
Going back to picking up Parenteau from the Islanders, I love the move. It addresses two needs right away: adding a right wing and proven depth scoring. Not to mention, the Devils gave up nothing to get him. Parenteau put up 20 goals and 21 assists last season, and may slot in nicely on the top line with Taylor Hall and Adam Henrique. This could prove to be another underrated move by Ray Shero.
One player you don’t see on the roster is Joseph Blandisi. Devils fans were encouraged by his play last season, when he appeared in 41 games. But, it’s clear that the coaching staff still thinks he has some maturing to do. We all remember the diving incidents last year and the fallout from that. The good thing is, he’s still only 22, so he has time to grow. Going back to Albany should not only humble him, but also motivate him to get back to the NHL level. He’ll get called up at some point, and hopefully can take advantage of that opportunity.
“For me, it’s a confidence thing. You obviously want to be here, you want to be part of the team,” Wedgewood said. “It’s nice to stay in the organization, and it would have been nice to play in the NHL. For me, it’s just to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Besides that, the Devils had to make a difficult decision on their backup goalie situation. They ultimately decided on Keith Kinkaid and placed Scott Wedgewood on waivers yesterday, as required. Luckily, Wedgewood cleared today and will remain with the organization in Albany. This move actually puzzled me, given that Wedgewood could have potentially been lost for nothing to another team. I thought this would go the other way around and was nervous that he would get claimed. I believe that Wedgy has more upside at age 24 than Kinkaid does at 27, but I’m not the coach, and thankfully the famous Seinfeld mask is still around.
I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to see some of these young guys play. Zacha, Santini, Auvitu, Wood, Speers – when is the last time you saw such an influx of youth? I love it.
Oh yeah, and Tayor Hall ain’t bad either.
Next: Jon Merrill Injury Opens Door for Santini and Auvitu
Well, these are your New Jersey Devils. Next stop: opening night on Thursday.