The New Jersey Devils are going through the first day of training camp on Thursday, and there’s a ton of news coming out. We got our first glimpse of the lines, with some interesting headlines coming from them. Anthony Mantha is joining Jack Hughes on the top line. Amadeus Lombardi looks to be in the top nine to start camp. In the second practice, we’re still waiting to learn about who Nico Hischier was paired with, but at first look, he was paired with Timo Meier and newly acquired Luke Evangelista.
The biggest news to come out was the injuries. Johnny Kovacevic is going to miss some time, giving Declan Chisholm a chance early in training camp. It could also open the door for Seamus Casey or Topias Vilen, among others.
Meanwhile, the bigger injury was actually to center Nick Bjugstad. He was acquired by the Devils near the trade deadline last season with a lack of center depth in the organization. He was expected to battle for a fourth-line role, but now, he’s likely going to miss most, if not all, of the season.
The Devils announced that Bjugstad was injured during training this month, causing a torn pectoral. That means he is going to be out four to six months after he had surgery.
Bjugstad was already on the roster bubble with so many additions in camp this season. Bjugstad, Jesper Boqvist, Stefan Noesen, Amadeus Lombardi, and Lenni Hameenaho are all fighting for the last few spots on the roster. We’ve talked about the logjam the Devils were dealing with at forward. Bjugstad being injured helps alleviate at least some of that.
Nick Bjugstad's injury solves an issue for the Devils forward group
Bjugstad was not the most productive player after the trade, and Sunny Mehta added some players who can play center this season. Evan Rodrigues can take faceoffs, and it might lead to a revamped third line. Cody Glass was great for the Devils last season. Lombardi can play a little center, too. And of course, in a pinch, the Devils have played Dawson Mercer at center, but that is not ideal.
Either way, whoever the Devils decide to put in that position, this opens up a spot they absolutely needed. It might tell us why Lombardi was given a chance in the top 12.
This also gives the Devils extra cap space if they were to need it. With them being under the salary cap ceiling, they don’t need to put Bjugstad on long-term injured reserve yet, but if a trade reveals itself at any point in the season, putting Bjugstad on LTIR could open up his $1.75 million cap hit.
Overall, it’s a tough day for Bjugstad, who is going into free agency coming off an injury. If he’s out the minimum four months, he should be back around January. If he’s out the six-month maximum, he might have a chance to come back for the playoffs.
Now, we must remember that in the new CBA, the Devils' playoff roster has to be cap-compliant, so they can’t hold him out until the playoffs as a strategy.
Add us as a preferred source on Google