The injury issues continue to pile up in Newark.
The New Jersey Devils officially placed forward Tomas Nosek on long-term injured reserve on Sunday after missing well over a month of action.
Forward Graeme Clarke was also assigned to the Utica Comets earlier today.
Nosek hasn’t played since Nov. 18 after suffering a foot injury. He played just six games before that, missing time early in the season before returning in mid-November and re-aggravating the issue.
Nosek is in his first season with the Devils, having signed a one-year deal worth $1 million after tying his career-best of 18 points last year. Nosek is a bottom-six producer with the ability to chip in for more from time to time, with his best season to date being his 18 points in 31 games during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season.
It’s been a rough patch on the injury front for the Devils, who already have Dougie Hamilton on regular injury reserve. Timo Meier, Ondrej Palat and Jack Hughes are all day-to-day for now, with no clarity on the long-term potential for Hughes after already missing time this year.
According to CapFriendly, the Devils have $1.85 million in usable cap space in its long-term injured salary pool. Hamilton is also eligible to go on LTIR with his $9 million cap hit, which would help for further relief if needed.
The Devils are coming off a 6-4 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, marking their first loss of 2024. The Devils will have some time to regroup and relax before heading south for games against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday and the Florida Panthers on Saturday. The club currently sits fifth in the Metropolitan Division with a 21-15-2 record, including 5-4-1 over the past 10 games.
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