The New Jersey Devils were fairly busy this offseason. After trading Simon Nemec and Jacob Markstrom to fix two issues with the roster, Sunny Mehta made some interesting moves in his first free agency. He traded and signed some depth at all positions. He added David Rittich to fight for the goaltending job. And he made the biggest move, signing Barrett Hayton to an offer sheet.
He wasn’t the only GM that was busy. In fact, almost all 32 GMs have been making a ton of moves this offseason. Many of those moves have found former Devils players and prospects finding new homes. We aren’t talking about the Devils players who left the team this past season. We already covered that. We’re talking about those players that make you say, “Oh yeah, I remember them. Such a shame.”
So, where did those players go?
Adam Beckman signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Colorado Avalanche. Beckman was traded to the Devils by the Minnesota Wild for Graeme Clarke. He's coming off a 30-goal season in the AHL with the Islanders's team in Bridgeport.
Blake Coleman was traded to the Minnesota Wild by the Calgary Flames. Coleman started his career with the Devils before he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Nolan Foote and a first-round pick back in 2020. He ended up winning two Stanley Cups there before signing a long-term deal with the Flames.
A.J. Greer signed a surprising four-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks worth around $17 million. Greer came to the Devils as part of the Kyle Palmieri-Travis Zajac return from the New York Islanders in 2021. He was a part of the Florida Panthers' two Stanley Cup teams before his rights were traded to the Ducks this offseason.
Erik Haula signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings worth more than $7 million total. The Devils said goodbye to Haula last offseason, sending him to the Nashville Predators for a draft pick and low-level prospect.
Kaapo Kahkonen had a very short run with the New Jersey Devils in 2024. The Devils traded Vitek Vanecek and a seventh-round pick for Kahkonen, mainly to get out from Vanecek's contract. After playing mostly in the AHL since leaving the Devils, Kahkonen signed a one-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens this offseason.
Alex Kerfoot very famously spurned the Devils out of college, but his career has never hit the heights he expected. The Devils' former fifth-round pick just signed a two-year deal with the Nashville Predators worth $7 million.
Shakir Mukhamadullin moved from the San Jose Sharks to the Edmonton Oilers in the Darnell Nurse trade. The former 20th-overall pick moved from the Devils to the Sharks in the Timo Meier trade in 2023. He recently signed a two-year deal with the Oilers.
Artem Shlaine re-signed with the Dallas Stars. He signed with the Stars rather than the Devils after leaving college. The Devils took him in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Akira Schmid, who helped the Devils beat the Rangers in their last playoff series win, was traded by the Vegas Golden Knights to the Florida Panthers. The third-string netminder in Vegas last season, the Devils traded him and Alex Holtz for Paul Cotter and a third-round pick a couple of seasons ago.
Chase Stillman signed a minor-league contract with the Detroit Red Wings. The Devils sent the former first-round pick to the Penguins in the Cody Glass trade, who then moved him to the Vancouver Canucks, who then decided not to qu
Vitek Vanecek left the Devils in the previously mentioned deal for Kaapo Kahkonen. He's since won a Stanley Cup with the Panthers and spent last season with the Utah Mammoth. He signed a deal with the New York Islanders this offseason as they await the results of Semyon Varlamov's knee surgery rehab.
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