The New Jersey Devils' center depth has been settled by default ahead of opening night, as they are now one player lighter on the roster.
Luke Glendening, who has been with the Devils on a professional tryout offer throughout training camp, continues to practice as the team's No. 4 center, with free agent acquisition Juho Lammikko slotting in behind him on the organizational depth chart.
That left out former Devils center Kevin Rooney, who returned to New Jersey on a tryout alongside Glendening. Despite scoring a nice deflection goal in Saturday's preseason finale against the Philadelphia Flyers, Rooney wouldn't stick.
Earlier Monday, the 32-year-old was reported to be deciding on what to do next and didn't practice with the Devils. By Monday night, it was announced by the Utah Mammoth that Rooney had signed a one-year, two-way deal with the club, carrying a cap hit of $775,000 at the NHL level.
The fact that this was a two-way deal, which reduces a player's salary when they play in the AHL, suggests that the Devils didn't make a contract offer to Rooney, or perhaps the player decided there was a better path to NHL minutes in Utah.
New Jersey Devils lose center depth as Kevin Rooney heads to Utah Mammoth
Regardless, Rooney is an established NHL fourth-liner at this point in his career, especially having played a career-high 70 games with the Calgary Flames last season.
Now that he's off to Utah with the Mammoth, Glendening, if he wasn't already, is basically guaranteed the No. 4 center job if and when he officially signs a contract with the Devils, especially with Lammikko banged up at the moment.