Devils Place Nick Bjugstad On LTIR

The Devils made a pair of transactions with their active roster today.  After clearing waivers, veteran winger Stefan Noesen was sent to AHL Utica.  Meanwhile, prospect defenseman Anton Silayev was recalled from the Comets.  At least, he was recalled on paper.

In a corresponding move, PuckPedia relays (Twitter link) that center Nick Bjugstad has been placed on LTIR, moving over from regular injured reserve.  As it turns out, Silayev’s recall was part of the timing strategy for Bjugstad’s LTIR placement.

While doing this actually hurts New Jersey in the short term, it buys them flexibility cap-wise later on.  With Noesen making more than Silayev in terms of base salary, the Devils can’t technically optimize their LTIR capture as well as they could have had they not made these moves.

However, Silayev also has $850K in performance bonuses in his deal.  By calling him up before moving Bjugstad to LTIR, they lock in Silayev costing just his $1.075MM base cap hit if and when he’s promoted for real later in the season.  Had they not done so, Silayev’s cost would have been $1.925MM, his salary and performance bonuses (his AAV instead of his cap hit).  The higher cost would have made it much more difficult to recall him later in the season.  The prospect will return to the Comets as this promotion was a paper move but this procedural technicality increases his chance of being promoted for real later on.

As for the LTIR move itself, Bjugstad is set to miss at least the first half of the season due to pectoral surgery to repair damage from an offseason training injury.  The veteran was acquired last season and was set to play his first full season with the Devils but that isn’t in the cards now.  The recovery timeline was four to six months from the time of surgery, putting Bjugstad’s return anywhere between late January and late March.