New Jersey Devils: 5 Players Who Can Sign PTO Contracts

Vladimir Sobotka

Vladimir Sobotka has been playing in the Swiss National League and the Czech league so far this season. This is a player that was once part of a package that got Ryan O’Reilly. The Buffalo Sabres are a mess, but that’s not the point right now. Sobotka was an NHL-caliber player with the Blues. He went to the Sabres and something was clearly wrong.

We’ve seen players go to teams and it not work before. Sobotka might still be the player who scored 11 goals with the Blues just two seasons ago.

He’s already 33 years old, and he’s had a lot of experience all over the world. He might not want to come back to the United States to play in a strange NHL season just to be on a taxi squad when he can play actual minutes in the Czech league. However, it has to pay better in the NHL than anywhere else, even if he’s sitting for every game.

Sobotka would be a nice player to have around to fill those fourth-line roles when the Devils lose someone. The Sabres were pairing him with Jeff Skinner at times. That’s not him. He needs to have a small role that allows him to thrive in small segments. The Devils have that role open, and they can use it on the taxi squad as well.