Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
Change hit the New Jersey Devils this offseason, and the Utica Comets are feeling the effects.
New Jersey has failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs three times in the past five seasons, and has only one series victory in that span. And three consecutive postseason misses for the Comets have the Devils eager to retool their AHL affiliate, too.
Sunny Mehta was hired on Apr. 16 to be the Devils’ new general manager, replacing Tom Fitzgerald. Coming from a Florida Panthers organization known in recent seasons for its aggressive roster moves, Mehta has brought that same mentality with him to his new post. Mehta also brought on Braden Birch from the Panthers as assistant GM; a significant portion of Birch’s portfolio will include serving as Utica’s new general manager.
The work has barely slowed down since then.
Defenseman Anton Silayev, taken 10th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft by the Devils, signed his entry-level deal June 1. The 20-year-old stands 6-foot-7 and already has three full seasons of Kontinental Hockey League experience with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.
Goaltender Nico Daws got a two-year contract extension after appearing in 44 games for the Comets in 2025-26. Daws will be entering his sixth season in the organization. Forwards Marc McLaughlin and Xavier Parent were also re-signed to one-year deals, and Comets captain Ryan Schmelzer has a new AHL contract for 2026-27.
Defenseman Étienne Morin arrived from the Calgary Flames in a trade for Šimon Nemec on June 23. Morin, 21, is a 2023 second-round pick who played 42 games as a rookie with the Calgary Wranglers in 2025-26. Intriguing forward Amadeus Lombardi came over in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings on June 25. Only 23 years old, Lombardi is coming off a 42-point season (16 goals, 26 assists) with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Another trade sent goaltender Jacob Markstrom and forward Angus Crookshank to Florida for forwards Jesper Boqvist, Evan Rodrigues and Ben Steeves. In Steeves the Devils get a 2026 AHL All-Star who was part Charlotte’s run to the 2025 Calder Cup Finals.
The Devils revamped their depth chart via free agency as well. They landed one of the top names from an AHL roster on the opening day of free agency, signing power forward Riley Tufte. The 6-foot-6 Tufte tied for third in the AHL with 32 goals in 64 games for the Providence Bruins in 2025-26. Defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok, who wrapped up this past season with the Texas Stars, also signed a one-year deal with the Devils.
Perhaps some of that group can break through to become full-time NHL contributors. That’s Mehta’s hope.
“There’s a certain point in time, and I think that the Devils are in this spot right now, where we need to take some chances on guys,” Mehta said in a media conference call earlier this month. “We need to find players. We need to find upside. We need to find hidden gems, so to speak.”
In addition to Schmelzer, AHL contracts have been given to forward Jack Malone, along with Charlotte’s Eamon Powell, Cleveland’s Justin Pearson and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Zach Gallant and Gabe Klassen.
Most recently, the Devils announced that Leo Luongo as their new director of goaltender after having spent 10 seasons with the Florida organization and gathering extensive experience working with their AHL goaltending prospects. A.J. MacLean will be a new assistant coach in New Jersey as well, coming over from the Syracuse Crunch. New goaltending coach Dan Stewart is on board after work with the St. Louis Blues and Springfield Thunderbirds.
Time will tell how these moves work out, who goes where, and who may compete for full-time work in New Jersey. But expect the Comets to take a key role in this transition period for New Jersey. Mehta comes from Florida, where the Panthers have prioritized a strong operation in Charlotte.
Mehta recounted an early discussion with Devils managing partner and chairman David Blitzer. Utica came up quickly.
“[Blitzer] himself brought up Utica,” Mehta recalled. “[Utica] needs to be something that we make more of a priority, that we think more about in terms of both not just the success of that organization in terms of wins and losses, but just also in terms of player development. So, as much as we used this sort of decision-making process that I talk about to focus intently on our decisions at the NHL, we really have done the same thing at the AHL. I mean, on the screen when we pull up our NHL roster, we’ve got the AHL roster right next to it, and we’re kind of thinking that all is one big thing where we’re trying to use that same roster strategy in Utica.
“We’re focusing a lot on Utica in general. It’s a priority for us.”
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
