Josh Jacobs
The player who constantly gets confused with a Las Vegas Raiders running back will now have to get acclimated to a new home. He was taken with the 41st-overall pick of the 2014 NHL Draft. It was actually a remarkably weak draft, so one can’t really blame the Devils here. Obviously, everyone would have hoped the Devils took Brayden Point, but he went 38 points after Jacobs and the Devils took Connor Chatham between Jacobs and Point. Still, the Devils can’t be happy with the value they got from a 2nd-round pick.
Jacobs spent six seasons directly in the Devils system. He played 247 games for the Albany/Binghamton Devils and even got a few cups of coffee in the NHL. Last season, he looked like a player possessed in training camp, but it was a little hard to tell what we were looking at. He eventually fell to the third line of the Binghamton defense, and it wasn’t looking good for his future with the franchise.
Jacobs became an unrestricted free agent based on the Group 6 criteria. Basically, he is over the age of 25, has three professional seasons under his belt, but he’s played less than 80 NHL games. Jacobs has been a staple on the AHL blue line, but he left for the Chicago Wolves this offseason. That is the minor league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Canes made a few changes on the blueline this offseason, which includes letting the Devils sign Dougie Hamilton, but it’s doubtful that Jacobs ever gets to the NHL full time.