Surprising news: The New Jersey Devils traded their most talented player to the Boston Bruins

Surprising news: The New Jersey Devils traded their most talented player to the Boston Bruins.

NEWARK, New Jersey General manager of the New Jersey Devils Tom Fitzgerald stated ahead of the 2023 NHL Awards that defenseman Reilly Walsh was transferred to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Shane Bowers.

The Devils selected Walsh, 24, 81st overall, in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft. For the previous three seasons, he was a regular with the team’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliates, the Binghamton Devils and Utica Comets. On April 26, 2022, the product of Framingham, Massachusetts, made his NHL debut against the Ottawa Senators and recorded his first NHL assist.

For Walsh, who was about to become a restricted free agent this summer, the writing was clearly on the wall. Right-shot defenseman like Simon Nemec, John Marino, and Dougie Hamilton are plentiful in the squad. Brendan Smith and Kevin Bahl are two other players on the team that can play on either side of the defense.

This past season, Walsh’s 41 points were second only to forward Graeme Clarke on the Utica Comets. Walsh has led all Binghamton/Utica defensemen in points over the last three AHL seasons. Devils associate general manager Dan MacKinnon recently expressed his opinion that Walsh may be an asset to an NHL team in an interview with NJ Advance Media.

“I think Reilly could play on an NHL team’s power play, definitely a second power play for a lot of NHL teams,” MacKinnon remarked. “Reilly’s kind of a unique guy.” (Walsh) understands that it will be difficult and competitive for him because of our defenseman’s talent and the way we built the team through the draft.” (from NJ.com, June 22, 2023: “Devils prospect Reilly Walsh might be traded ‘early next season,’ deputy general manager says).

Walsh would not have a chance in New Jersey since Luke Hughes and Nemec were anticipated to play in the NHL the following season. With this deal, he now has an opportunity to compete in training camp and maybe earn a position on the Boston roster alongside former Devil Pavel Zacha and teammate A.J. Greer.

The Bruins traded forward Shane Bowers to New Jersey. He was previously defenseman Ryan Graves’ teammate. The Ottawa Senators selected him with the 28th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. On November 10, 2022, the 23-year-old took the ice with the Colorado Avalanche against the Nashville Predators in his NHL debut. Sadly, he was hurt and had to leave the game with less than two minutes of ice time.

The 180-pound, 6-foot-2 winger made 174 AHL appearances and scored 66 points (31 goals, 35 assists).

penned by Kristy Finnery
Kristy Flannery works for The Hockey News as a reporter and site editor for the New Jersey Devils franchise website. Flannery, a northern New Jersey native, has covered hockey for the past two seasons as a credentialed sports reporter. She enjoys reading, Pilates, and spending time with her spouse and two dogs in her free time. She may be followed on Twitter, Instagram, Threads, and TikTok under the handle @InStilettos_NHL.

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