Former Devils F Ilya Kovalchuk will likely make his return to the NHL in the 2018-19 season, per NJ.com's Chris Ryan. 

Kovalchuk expressed interest in returning to the NHL this season with the Devils granting him permission to seek a deal with other teams. However, he told Russia-24 TV that he will likely play one last season in the SKA before returning to the states. 

As Kovalchuk sought deals this season, the Devils were not opposed to making a sign-and-trade. However, GM Ray Shero said the deal had to make sense for the Devils. 

The Devils have signed first overall pick Nico Hischier to a maximum entry-level three-year contract, Vice President/GM Ray Shero announced on Saturday.

Hischier's contract is worth $925,000 AAV and includes performance bonuses. The 18-year-old just completed New Jersey's Development Camp on Saturday, according to the team.

Hischier tallied 38 goals and 48 assists in 57 games for for Halifax (QMJHL) in 2016-17, which was the most among rookies. In the playoffs, Hischier scored three goals and had four assists. 

Despite the Devils lacking on the defensive front last season, G Cory Schneider believes the group the team already has, per NJ.com's Chris Ryan. 

Instead of the defense needing to improve, Schneider thinks the goals allowed last season were his fault. He knows that if he plays his game, there is bound to be a drastic change.

"Defensively, we're returning a lot of the guys we had last year. Goal prevention may have been more of a me issue than a team defense issue," Schneider said. "If I can play the way I know I can, it will obviously clear up any holes for defensive issues we have. I trust our defensemen. They player hard last year, they played their hearts out. We expect the same from them this year."

Devils newest F Marcus Johansson is embracing the role as an underdog with the Devils, and believes the team can surprise the league this season, per NJ.com's Chris Ryan. 

Johansson knows playoff hockey, having made the postseason in six seasons with the Washington Capitals including last year. Now, he is on the other side of the spectrum with the Devils searching for their first playoff berth since the 2011-12 season where they lost in the Stanley Cup Final. 

Though the Devils were 12 games under .500 last season, he thinks the team is on the right path toward winning this year. 

"It's something that's moving in the right direction I fee like, and I don't mind being an underdog here," Johansson said. "I think we have a great team and if we can just put all the pieces together, I think we can surprise some people."

This offseason, the Devils allowed Beau Bennett to walk in free agency and bought out the contract of forward Mike Cammalleri. 

Bennett, a UFA, signed a one-year deal worth $650,000 with the Blues after leaving New Jersey. The Devils never really made a serious offer to Bennett, who notched 19 points in 65 games. 

The Capitals have agreed to terms with former Devil Devante Smith-Pelly on a one-year, two-way deal, the team announced. 

The New Jersey Devils acquired forward Marcus Johansson from the Washington Capitals in exchange for 2018 second- and third-round picks.

Johansson, 26, recorded 24 goals and 34 assists in 82 games during the regular season and two goals and six assists in 13 playoff games for Washington.

A first-round pick in 2009, Johansson has 102 goals and 188 assists in 501 career NHL games.

The Devils will give up Florida's second-round pick and Toronto's third-round pick next season.

The Kings are expected to sign LW Michael Cammalleri to a one-year, $1 million deal, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie. 

The Devils had placed Cammalleri and RW Devante Smith-Pelly on unconditional waivers, for the purpose of buying out their contracts, the team announced Friday.

The Devils have signed free agent F Brian Boyle to a two-year deal worth $6.1 million, according to Chris Ryan of NJ.com.

The 32-year-old forward, who played the final 21 games with the Maple Leafs last year, reportedly was interested in returning to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Between Toronto and Tampa Bay in 2016-17, Boyle recorded 13 goals and 12 assists in 75 games.

The former New York Ranger has notched 93 goals, 76 assists and a minus-20 in 624 NHL games. 

The New Jersey Devils extended qualifying offers to nine players, including defenseman Damon Severson and forward Blake Coleman, on Monday.

The Devils also extended offers to defenseman Vojtech Mozik, goaltender Scott Wedgewood and forwards Joseph Blandisi, Stefan Noesen, Blake Pietila, Kevin Rooney and Ben Thomson.

Players have until July 15 to sign a contract with the team. They may sign an offer sheet with another team, but the Devils are given the right of first refusal or draft choice compensation.

The league's salary arbitration phase takes place from July 20 to Aug. 4.

The New Jersey Devils drafted 11 players in the 2017 NHL Draft, including two third round picks, two fifth round picks, and three seventh round picks.

Round 1, 1st overall pick: C Nico Hischier

Scouting report...

The Devils selected C Jesper Boqvist with the fifth pick in the second round of the NHL Draft on Saturday at the United Center in Chicago.

Boqvist had six assists in 16 games for Brynas IF in 2016-17 before moving to Timra IK, where he scored three goals and added nine assists in 19 games. In seven games of international competition at the IIHF U18 World Championship in 2016, he had two goals and an assist in seven games.

"The left-shot forward has great speed with offensive skill. Boqvist (6-0, 179) is a very good skater with good first-step quickness and balance," said Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com. "He's a skilled puck carrier, and effective in traffic."

The Devils selected Swiss center Nico Hischier with the No. 1 pick Friday night at the first NHL draft to ever be held in Chicago. Hischier, 18, had 38 goals and 86 points for the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey Legue last season.

He is the highest-drafted Swiss player in NHL history and is known for his speed and excellent skating ability. He is listed at 6 foot and 179 pounds. He won the Michael Bossy Trophy (Best Professional Prospect) and Michael Bergeron Trophy (Offensive Rookie of the Year) last year.

New Jersey is coming off a last-place finish with a 28-40-14 record last season. The Devils also have the No. 36 pick in this year's draft.

The Devils will kick off their 2017-18 season against the Colorado Avalanche on October 7 at the Prudential Center. 

View the full schedule here.

The Devils have lost defenseman Jon Merrill in the Expansion Draft to the Las Vegas Golden Knights. 

The Devils announced they will play the Avalanche in their home opener on Oct. 7.

New Jersey Devils forwards Adam Henrique and Taylor Hall are among the nine players the team will protect in the NHL expension draft.

The Devils will also protect forwards Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac, defensemen Andy Greene, John Moore, Mirco Mueller and Damon Severson, and goaltender Cory Schneider.

Goaltender Keith Kinkaid and forwards Michael Cammalleri and Devante Smith-Pelly are among the 24 players the Devils made available for the Las Vegas Golden Knights, who will submit their draft selections by 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

Las Vegas must choose one player from each team and must take a minimum of 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders.

Though he has not ruled out the option, Devils general manager Ray Shero says he will "probably" hold on to the first overall pick in this year's NHL Draft, per NHL.com's Mike G. Morreale. 

Shero has been getting calls from teams interested in trading for the No. 1 overall selection, but he isn't returning them.

"I've gotten calls asking if there's interest moving down and other calls where it's been more specific and it's something to think about," Shero said. "But I haven't called them back. The idea is we'll probably be picking, but we're open to a lot of things."

The New Jersey Devils have announced their 2017-2018 preseason schedule Monday morning.

The Devils preseason schedule consists of seven games, all against Eastern Conference opponents, with two home games and five road matchups, including one neutral-site "road" game.

New Jersey begins its preseason on Monday, September 18 at home against Washington. The Devils will then travel across the Hudson River to take on the Rangers on Wednesday, September 20, and to Montreal to face the Canadiens on September 21. 

The Devils then return home for another matchup against the Rangers on Saturday, September 23.

Devils 2016 first-round pick, Michael McLeod, will look to improve his strength and conditioning to hopefully make it to the NHL this season, per Chris Ryan of NJ.com. 

The 19-year-old, who was selected 12th overall last year, is hoping to make the big leagues this season. To do so, director of amatuer scouting Paul Castron thinks he needs to hit the weights.

"I think the biggest part is the strength and conditioning," Castron said. "You don't necessarily need to rush that, sometimes it's just a maturing factor. Guys get older, they fill out. Sometimes guys rush that and get injured working out. You've got to put the time in the gym obviously, got to eat properfly and do all the little things right."

With the NHL Draft just a few weeks away, the Devils are contemplating which of the top prospects to take with the number one pick.

New Jersey is expected to select one of two centers with the first overall selection: Nolan Patrick or Nico Hischier. Patrick is ranked No. 1 and Hischier No. 2 by Central Scouting, but many consider both prospects equally worthy of the top selection.

"They are different types of players," Devils general manager Ray Shero said to the New York Times.

Patrick was the captain of the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League. Although he missed more than half of the season due to injuries, Patrick finished the year with 20 goals and 26 assists in just 33 games. He truly put himself in the national spotlight during the 2015-2016 season, when he recorded 102 points in 72 games and led the Wheat Kings to the Memorial Cup (the championship of Canadian junior hockey), earning MVP honors for the playoffs.

Devils general manager Ray Shero isn't losing sleep over the possible return of Ilya Kovalchuk to the NHL, according to Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com.

Kovalchuk has expressed interest in returning to the NHL, but with the Devils holding the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft later this month, Shero isn't focused on him at the moment.

"As far as I know, that's still the plan," Shero said at the NHL Scouting Combine Thursday. "Kovalchuk kind of drives the bus on this in terms of talking to teams or where he could want to play." 

The Devils have met with potential first overall pick, Nolan Patrick, at the NHL Scouting Combine, according to Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com.

The team met with the 18-year-old on the first day of the six-day combine, and Patrick said the meeting was straightforward.

"It was straightforward questioning, they were really friendly," Patrick said. "They asked at one point what was most important to me, being a top scorer or winning the game. That answer is pretty obvious: winning the game."

The Devils have fired radio analyst Sherry Ross on Tuesday, according to Chris Ryan of NJ.com.

Ross has served as the Devils color commentator on their WFAN radio broadcasts for the past 10 seasons. She worked as a hockey reporter with the Daily Record, The Record, Newsday and New York Daily News as well.

Ilya Kovalchuk wants to return to the NHL next season, and the Devils have given him and his agent permission to seek a deal with other teams, according to Pierre LeBrun of TSN.

New Jersey still holds the forward's rights as Kovalchuk left the NHL in the middle of his contract with the Devils.

LeBrun writes that Devils GM Ray Shero confirmed with Kovalchuk's agent, Jay Grossman, that the 34-year old definitely wants to return to the NHL next season. 

The Devils will pick first overall in the NHL Draft after winning the NHL Entry Draft lottery.

The Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Star will have the second and third overall draft picks, respectively.

The Devils have missed the postseason five straight seasons and finished their 2016-17 campaign with a 28-40 record.

The Devils have signed defenseman Yaroslav Dyblenko to a two-year, entry-level contract, the team announced Thursday morning.

Dyblenko spent the past five seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League. He spent last season with Moscow Spartak, where he recorded four goals, seven assists, and 51 penalty minutes in 51 games.

Through 180 KHL games, Dyblenko has 12 goals and 27 assists.

The Devils cleaned out their lockers at The Prudential Center on Tuesday, marking the official end of their 2016-17 season.

New Jersey finished in last place in the Eastern Conference and won just 28 games as the team missed the postseason for the fifth consecutive year. The Devils finished with the second-worst record in the NHL behind only the Colorado Avalanche.

The New Jersey Devils ended the 2016-17 season with a 4-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday at Joe Louis Arena. >> Read more

First period:

• 7:09 DET Riley Sheahan; Assists: Frans Nielsen, Darren Helm
• 11:19 DET Tomas Tatar; Assists: Gustav Nyquist, Henrik Zetterberg

Second period:

• 10:18 DET Zetterberg; Assist: Nyquist

Third period:

• 1:15 NJ John Moore; Assists: Jacob Josefson, Michael Cammalleri
• 17:27 DET Riley Sheahan (power play); Assists: Nielsen, Dylan Larkin

Anders Lee scored two goals and Jaroslav Halak saved 37 shots as the Islanders beat the Devils on Saturday at the Prudential Center. >> Read more

First period

No goals

The Islanders and Devils play each other for the final time this season at 6 p.m. at the Prudential Center. 

According to STATS: 

• The Islanders beat the Hurricanes, 3-0, at PNC Arena on Thursday night, keeping their slim postseason hopes alive in the process. New York has won four straight games -- its longest win streak of the 2016-17 campaign.
• New Jersey lost, 7-4, to Pittsburgh at Prudential Center on Thursday night, dropping to 1-5-2 in the last eight games overall. The seven goals scored by the Pens were the most allowed by the Devils in any game this season.

The Devils fell behind early on Thursday night and were unable to keep up with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who defeated New Jersey by a score of 7-4 on at the Prudential Center to clinch home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. >> Read more

Recap

John Moore scored 59 seconds into overtime and New Jersey Devils snapped a six-game losing streak with a 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

Keith Kinkaid made 35 saves in posting his first shutout of the season and helping the Devils win for only the third time in 21 games (3-14-4).

The Flyers scored twice in the first period and cruised to a 3-0 victory over the Devils at The Wells Fargo Center. >> Read more

First Period

7:28 PHI Brayden Schenn (Power Play); Assists: Claude Giroux, Shayne Gostisbehere

The Philadelphia Flyers still have a snowball's chance of making the Stanley Cup playoffs, and until it completely melts they're going to keep believing it can happen.

The New Jersey Devils are hoping their next big win comes in the 2017 NHL draft lottery.

On Saturday night, the Flyers (37-32-8, 82 points) will try to keep their playoff hopes alive when they host the Devils (27-36-14, 68 points), who own the third-worst record in the NHL behind the Colorado Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes.

Despite three straight wins, the Flyers remain six points behind the Boston Bruins (88 points) with five games to play. But they are also two points behind the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes and three points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Recap

Anders Lee and Anthony Beauvillier scored to help the New York Islanders preserve their slim playoff chances with a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.

Jaroslav Halak stopped 26 shots as the Islanders pulled four points behind Boston for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. New York won at home for the first time since beating the Devils here on Feb. 19, going 0-4-1 at Barclays Center in between.

New Jersey Devils great Patrik Elias has retired from the NHL, the Devils announced Friday morning.

Elias played all 18 seasons of his NHL career with New Jersey, and will retire as a two-time Stanley Cup Champion and the Devils all-time leader in goals, assists, and points. 

The Devils will celebrate "Patrik Elias Week" over the final three home games this season, including Elias dropping the ceremonial puck on April 4, an open practice on April 7, and Elias participating in warm-ups during the April 8 home finale.

The Devils have assigned forward Blake Pietila to their AHL affiliate in Albany, the team announced on Thursday.

The 24-year-old Pietila has an assist in 10 games with New Jersey this season.

The New Jersey Devils lost to the Winnipeg Jets in a shootout, 4-3, Tuesday at Prudential Center. >> Read more

First period:

• 0:52 WIN Nikolaj Ehlers; Assists: Blake Wheeler, Jacob Trouba
• 8:10 NJ Beau Bennett; Assists: Pavel Zacha, Dalton Prout
• 12:07 NJ Taylor Hall; Assist: Travis Zajac

Second period:

The New Jersey Devils host the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday at Prudential Center at 7 p.m. ET.

According to STATS:

• The Jets won the first matchup between these teams this season. A win tonight would give Winnipeg a sweep of the season series for just the third time in franchise history (first two were 2005-06 as the Thrashers and 2013-14 as the Jets).

The Devils have signed D Michael Kapla from UMass-Lowell to a two-year entry deal, according to Andrew Gross of The Record.

Kapla will report to the Devils.

In 41 games for UMass-Lowell this season, the 22-year old defenseman registered three goals and 27 assists.

Keith Kinkaid allowed two goals late as the New Jersey Devils lost to the Dallas Stars, 2-1, Sunday at Prudential Center. >> Read more

First period:

• 11:02 NJ Blake Coleman

Second period:

The Carolina Hurricanes broke a 1-1 tie in the third period and pulled away with a 3-1 victory over the Devils on Saturday. With the loss, the Devils are now eliminated from playoff contention.  >> Read more

John Moore scored twice but the Devils still lost for the 13th time in 15 games, 4-2, to the Maple Leafs on Thursday night at Air Canada Centre. >> Read more...

First period:

• 2:59 NJD John Moore; Assists: Damon Severson, Kyle Palmieri
• 5:46 TOR Josh Leivo (power play); Assists: Auston Matthews, William Nylander
• 18:17 TOR William Nylander; Assists: Auston Matthews, Nikita Zaitsev

Second period:

• 2:04 TOR James van Riemsdyk; Assists: Mitchell Marner, Tyler Bozak

Third period:

• 9:04 NJD John Moore (power play); Assists: Pavel Zacha, Taylor Hall
• 19:14 TOR Connor Brown (empty net); Assists: Leo Komarov, Nazem Kadri

The Devils travel to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre on Thursay night at 7:30 p.m.

According to STATS:

• The Devils won for just the second time in their last 14 games with Tuesday's 3-2 overtime victory over the Rangers. New Jersey is 5-for-15 (33.3 percent) on the power-play over its last five games, scoring at least one power-play goal in all five.
• The Maple Leafs won their second straight and extended their point streak to four games following Wednesday's 5-2 victory at the Blue Jackets. Toronto has now scored at least five goals 13 times this season, its most since 2008-09 (17).
• New Jersey and Toronto have gone to the shootout six times in the last 11 meetings. Dating back to the 2013-14 season, no other head-to-head series has seen at least six games reach the shootout.

Recap

Joseph Blandisi scored on an odd-man rush with 54.6 seconds left in overtime and the New Jersey Devils handed the New York Rangers a rare road loss, 3-2 on Tuesday night.

John Quenneville set up Blandisi's third goal of the season, and Quenneville and Taylor Hall also scored for the Devils. New Jersey got just its second win in 14 games (2-10-2) behind 38 saves by Cory Schneider, including a stop on Kevin Hayes in close just before Blandisi's winner.

The win was the Devils' first in four games with the Rangers this season. >> Read more...