The New Jersey Devils have placed center Max Willman on waivers. The Winnipeg Jets have also placed center Dominic Toninato on waivers.
Willman had played 13 games for the Devils this season and scored two points during that span. He also played 20 games for the Utica Comets in the AHL and put up 16 points there. He was an offseason signing by the Devils for league minimum on a one-year deal. The team brought him in as additional depth at the forward position. It was surprising to see him in the NHL at all this year, given how stacked the Devils are upfront.
However, with the long-term absence of Michael McLeod due to his arrest in connection with the 2018 World Juniors investigation and general poor play from many Devils’ forwards, that gave Willman the opportunity to play in the NHL for a stint. It’s unlikely he’ll be picked up on waivers but there is a chance a team looking for bottom-six help might take a flyer on him.
Toninato is in a similar situation to Willman as he is nothing more than a 13th forward at the NHL level so he spends a lot of time going up and down between the two leagues. He played 15 games for the Jets this year and put up five points. He also played nine games for the Manitoba Moose and scored six points there.
Toninato has been a member of the Jets organisation for four years and has one more year remaining on his contract after this season. The 29-year-old center has played 184 games in the NHL over his career and scored 13 goals and 35 points so far. Like Willman, it’s unlikely any team will claim Toninato on waivers so he’ll probably report to the Moose as soon as he clears.
More must-reads: