Aarne Talvitie
New Team: TPS Turku
One of the only players on this list to already start his hockey season, Aarne Talvitie made it clear at the end of last season that he wasn’t returning to the Devils organization. There were reports he signed with a new team when the Utica Comets were in the playoffs. It was a strange end to a promising career that was never the same after a devastating knee injury.
Talvitie looked like another Devils late-round steal early in his career. When he came over from Europe to join the Penn State hockey team, it looked like he would eventually develop into an NHL player. He signed with the Devils after the 2020-21 season. He spent the rest of the season in Binghamton before the Devils minor league affiliate moved to Utica.
It’s honestly just a sad situation for the Devils and Talvitie. He would actually have a really nice role on this Utica roster. The Devils are lacking centers in the organization. Utica probably could use Talvitie at the position, but now he’s playing in his native Finland for TPS Turku.
Talvitie was always a strange player whose offensive upside never manifested. If he breaks out in Europe, we’d be pretty surprised.