This evening, the New Jersey Devils have announced that they have placed Anthony Mantha on Long-Term Injured Reserve, retroactive to November 7. Following this move, they have recalled forwards Stefan Noesen and Lenni Hameenaho from the Utica Comets while returning Riley Tufte. Mantha had left Saturday’s contest against the Islanders with a throat injury after being high sticked by Adam Pelech in the third period.
Given the nature of Mantha’s injury and the possibility that Johnny Kovacevic may not be far behind, the Devils needed to take steps to protect their competitiveness by putting one of them on Long-Term Injured Reserve. That’s not really much of an opinion so much as it is a cap reality for them. Per PuckPedia, the Devils were only carrying 22 players on their active roster while only having $177,606 in cap space as of this afternoon, meaning they could not have called anyone up without making use of LTIR.
By putting Mantha on LTIR, the team gets the majority of his salary in LTIR benefit space. Per PuckPedia, the Benefit Limit for LTIR this season is $3,973,228, not too far below Mantha’s $4.75 million cap hit. Then, subtracting the $177,606 in cap space that the Devils have, they would get $3,795,622 in LTIR Pool (if my math and reading of the new LTIR rules are correct). But regardless of the exact number, they had enough to call up the best of their reinforcements from the Utica Comets. Following the moves today, they have $2,478,228 in remaining LTIR pool.
Now, Mantha must remain out until December 3 or later, missing 10 games or more. Stefan Noesen, having played three games since clearing waivers, is allowed to play six of them without requiring waivers to be sent back to Utica. Lenni Hameenaho, as a waivers-ineligible player, can play however much the Devils need. But for the time being, I think the player to add is Noesen if Keefe is unwilling to make larger changes to include both players right away.
How Stefan Noesen Could Help the Power Play
Stefan Noesen, who was out for much of last season with lower-body injuries, has bounced between Utica and New Jersey this season already. In the NHL, he has a goal and three points in five games. In Utica, he has two goals and six points in seven games, being a bit of a cheat code for the Comets when he’s on the ice. At five-on-five, the Comets have outscored opponents 6-2 with Noesen, while they have also scored four power play goals with Noesen on. Noesen and Hameenaho in particular have pretty much just run over opponents in their minutes. While Noesen has been known to be a little too good for the AHL since he last played there in 2021-22, it is also good to note that Hameenaho appears to be outgrowing the league.
But Noesen has particular skills that the Devils need: the ability to create netfront traffic. He is one of the most fearless screeners in the league, and he helped the 2024-25 Devils form a pretty solid power play. That season, the Devils scored 11.19 goals per 60 power play minutes with Noesen on the ice, which was fifth on the team. Neither Timo Meier nor Dawson Mercer were able to supplant him over the course of that season, as the combination of Noesen’s screening, Hamilton’s point shots, Hischier’s work in the bumper, and the playmaking of Bratt and Hughes from the walls made that first unit incredibly formidable. One reason I think Noesen works with this group is he doesn’t need the puck to be effective. He’ll win it back near the net, but he doesn’t need to rotate to the bumper or wall or take up time with the puck. He just needs to screen and tip shots.
Fast forward to today, and the Devils have simply not been able to produce at that level under new power play coach Ted Donato or the new additions to the roster in Luke Evangelista, Evan Rodrigues, and Anthony Mantha. The recent addition of Connor Brown to the power play seemed to have given them a jolt, but Brown is quite as fit to the power play as Noesen would be. With the power play at just 18% through 19 games, we could be looking at a double swap for the Devils on the first unit in the additions of Dougie and Noesen. This would leave the second unit as Evangelista, Meier, Gritsyuk, Brown, and Luke Hughes: a group that should at least be competent.
A New Hameenaho?
Lenni Hameenaho has not been on the ice for a goal against at five-on-five this season in Utica.
Let that sink in for a moment. He has only been on the ice for one power play goal against and two empty netters.
I am quite fond of the players in the bottom six, but the cold reality is that their play has slipped since Connor Brown returned to the lineup and Jesper Boqvist rose to the third line. Per MoneyPuck, this is the order of bottom six lines this season by expected goals percentage, with ice time noted and excluding lines featuring Dawson Mercer. The bolded lines are the ones that had been active immediately prior to Mantha’s injury.
- Mantha-Rodrigues-Noesen: 25 minutes, 80.0 xGF%
- Lombardi-Glass-Boqvist: 55 minutes, 68.8 xGF%
- Lombardi-Glass-Brown: 66 minutes, 44.9 xGF%
- Boqvist-Glass-Brown: 16 minutes, 40.0 xGF%
- Boqvist-Rodrigues-Mantha: 62 minutes, 39.0 xGF%
Needless to say, it might not just be enough for one of Noesen or Hameenaho to re-enter the lineup. Given the way the bottom six has played since Arseny Gritsyuk was elevated to the Hughes line, Connor Brown returned to the lineup, and Dawson Mercer was traded, I think the logical course of action would be to consider the following: the original fourth line of Lombardi, Glass, and Boqvist should get games with each other again, but Hameenaho and Noesen should both get third and fourth line looks with or without players like Brown, Lombardi, and Boqvist in the lineup. The numbers don’t lie: they have not played as well lately, and they are unlikely to suddenly start scoring without Mantha’s chart-breaking shooting ability.
A Lenni Hameenaho that can create on offense while playing a strong defensive game is at least an intriguing thought. Last season, it was the speed of the game around him that prevented him from playing as well as he does for Utica, though Sheldon Keefe did him few favors with heavily defensive usage next to Glass and Gritsyuk. This season, hopefully playing next to both Rodrigues and Glass, Hameenaho has a chance to see what he’s taken away from the taste of NHL hockey he had last season.
Concerns for Johnny Kovacevic
Last night, Johnny Kovacevic left the game against the Winnipeg Jets early with what appeared to be a left knee injury. For many reasons, this is bad news. First and foremost, Kovacevic has had two knee surgeries since having a major injury in the 2025 Playoffs, and another knee injury could be devastating for him. For the time being, the only update we have is from Sheldon Keefe informing the media that they would be doing imaging today. As of this point, there has been no update on him, so I presume we will be hearing the results of that tomorrow.
Per MoneyPuck, the pairing of Declan Chisholm and Kovacevic has ranked fourth in the league (minimum 100 minutes played) in expected goals for percentage, sitting just below the Hischier and Hughes lines, which are the fifth and sixth best lines in the league by the same metric, respectively. Obviously, Chisholm and Kovacevic have not been a minutes-eating pairing, but their 120 minutes played together are no small sample. Right now, this looks like a terrible blow for the Devils to suffer, as the Dillon-Chisholm replacement pairing have sat at a 54.5% expected goals percentage in under 80 minutes played. The best case scenario for the Devils is that Kovacevic was caught off guard by the play and didn’t like how it felt, but will be back on the ice relatively soon.
The worst-case scenario is pretty far from that. Kovacevic has already had a major knee surgery before, and we would have to hope that any long-term injury here would be of a still-lesser variety than the ACL tear that he likely sustained a year and a half ago. A meniscus tear or an MCL sprain may keep him out several weeks, while another ACL injury could keep him out for the entire season. We don’t know much yet. But assuming Kovacevic at least ends up on Injured Reserve now that Mantha has been placed on LTIR, I believe the best player to call up would be Anton Silaev given the nature of Kovacevic’s game and what the Devils may be losing there.
The Silaev Decision
Understandably, some might think that it would be too soon for the Devils to call up Anton Silaev, who is still adjusting to North American hockey. On the other hand, I am not sure how much of an adjustment he needs to make. Through 11 games, the 9-2 Comets are led in plus/minus by Silaev, who has a +7 with three assists. Silaev has also only taken one minor penalty through 11 games: an indication that the speed of the AHL game has not challenged him too much yet, as he is not getting beat and taking penalties.
What I think the Devils need is a solid presence. Silaev, at 6’7” and 225 pounds, is certainly that. I think this is a bit of an “if not now, when?” kind of situation. The AHL is not Silaev’s first professional league, and he seems to be passing the test quite well already. Anytime you can get a giant defenseman who skates as well as Silaev does, I think it’s worth a look. On this: while Brenden Dillon is a veteran presence, he is rather adventurous positionally for a physical, defensive player.
There are not a ton of great alternatives. Seamus Casey is not only out with an injury, but he is a much different player than Kovacevic. With Casey out of the lineup, the Devils largely lack right-handed defensive options, with the next-best right-handed defenseman probably being Mikael Diotte, who has also been out with an injury but has been close to a return. That means that whoever is called up is likely going to be a left-handed player, and the players to pick from are Silaev, Topias Vilen, and Vladislav Kolyachonok. Vilen has been producing the most with five points, while Kolyachonok has numbers similar to Silaev with lesser on-ice results. I would not mind Vilen, of course, but his potential does not rise to that of Silaev’s.
Final Words and Your Thoughts
Hopefully, both Anthony Mantha and Johnny Kovacevic are not too hurt by their respective injuries and return to the lineup as soon as possible. But thanks to decent depth at the AHL level and the steps they have already taken, the Devils should be able to weather the storm until they are able to rejoin the lineup down the line.
But what do you make of these developments? How do you think Noesen and Hameenaho will factor into the lineup? Do you think just one or both will play against Washington? Who do you think should come up to replace Kovacevic if he ends up out of the lineup? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.
