New Jersey Devils could lose Santeri Hatakka before the season unless someone gets injured

The New Jersey Devils got something out of Santeri Hatakka last season. His underlying numbers were actually great. According to Natural Stat Trick, only Dougie Hamilton had a better high-danger chance percentage at 5v5. Only a very small sample size of Cal Foote had a better high-danger chances against per 60 minutes. Hatakka was really good at suppressing high-percentage chances when he was on the ice. 

Hatakka did not last on the main roster, getting sent back down to the AHL on February 13th. It was almost a year to the day that Hatakka became a member of the Devils organization. He was a forgotten part of the Timo Meier trade, but he might be an NHL player, which would be a fabulous surprise. 

When the Devils sent Hatakka down last February, he went directly to the Utica Comets. This season, that’s not the same path. Hatakka lost waiver eligibility this offseason, meaning that he’d have to be made available to every NHL team, for free, before he was allowed to play in Utica again. 

The waiver process in the NHL might seem complicated, but it’s pretty straightforward when it’s laid out. Hatakka signed his entry-level contract when he was 20 years old. He played his first NHL games in 2021-22, and that matters here. He played the maximum nine games, which allowed the contract to slide, but that eligibility had run out. 

Since Hatakka is a skater and signed when he was 20 years old, he was only waiver-exempt for three seasons. That honeymoon is now over, and it will force the Devils to make a hard decision this offseason.

Many believe that Hatakka is the depth piece on the left side of the defense. If Jonas Siegenthaler has a rough start, Hatakka is expected to get a shot in the NHL. If any left-handed defenseman gets hurt, it could be Hatakka’s time to shine. Heck, if he just plays really well in the AHL, we could see the Devils try to make this work.

Except he might not even be with the Devils by the time the team heads to Prague for the NHL Global Series. Because of their overseas journey, the Devils start the season between a few days and a week before other teams. That means players are expected to go on waivers in the middle of other teams’ training camps. That will give those teams more time to make a decision on a talented player like Hatakka.

Would the Devils try to sneak Hatakka by with either a really early waiver process or finding a way to sneak him on the roster? There are already 24 NHL players on this roster without Hatakka, but the Devils can try to get creative to protect an asset.