Preseason storylines are so interesting. They seem to consume the local and national narratives, and the second puck drops on opening night, it’s like a fever dream that never happened. Some years, the preseason goes along smoothly, and the roster is locked down pretty early. Other years, there is intense competition with hard decisions.
Oftentimes, the hard decisions come from professional tryout contracts. The team has to decide if they can commit to a player after seeing them in a few weeks of practice and 3-4 games. We saw that last season with Luke Glendening and Kevin Rooney on the New Jersey Devils. The Devils tried to sign both of them, but Rooney chose another opportunity out west, and Glendening spent most of the season in the lineup after injuries ravaged the roster.
However, the year before was one of the most exciting PTOs in a long time. Kevin Labanc was coming off a rough stretch of his career. The 56-point season he had with the San Jose Sharks was a distant memory, and he was trying to revitalize his career with a new franchise.
Something possessed Labanc that preseason because he was the best player in the league. Nobody scored as many goals in the 2024 preseason as Labanc, who had six goals in four games. He looked great, too. He was laying hits and causing turnovers.
There’s no way Labanc’s 33% shooting percentage was going to carry over to the regular season. He only had two goals in an injury-filled season with the Blue Jackets. However, the fact remains that Labanc seemed to fit what Sheldon Keefe was trying to do with a new roster.
Labanc left the NHL after his failed campaign with the Blue Jackets and signed with the Shanghai Dragons, playing in China for the new KHL franchise. He had 15 goals and 34 points for the Dragons, which was a nice showing from him.
Kevin Labanc is not longer available to the New Jersey Devils, or anyone else
It always made sense to consider Labanc as a PTO again after how well he fit the first time. Sometimes there’s magic in the chemistry of the NHL. However, that’s off the table again for the 30-year-old forward.
Labanc signed a one-year deal with the SCRJ Lakers of Switzerland’s National League. He didn't want to wait to see if an NHL opportunity was on the table, signing the locked in deal with the European league.
It was always a long shot that Labanc would return to the Devils. Tom Fitzgerald is gone, and Sunny Mehta isn't in the business of taking chances on guys his age. However, it's hard to deny his performance, albeit just four preseason games, while he as in New Jersey.
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