The New Jersey Devils have placed veteran forward Stefan Noesen on waivers, a move reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. It marks the first time the winger has been exposed since his brief stretch with the San Jose Sharks in 2020-21.
On the surface it is a roster-management decision. Underneath it is the end of a short second act in Newark that never quite recovered from a lost season.
Noesen returned to the Devils as an unrestricted free agent in 2024 after two productive years with the Carolina Hurricanes, signing a three-year deal worth $8.25 million with a $2.75 million average annual value.
The first year back looked like a clean fit. He finished 2024-25 with 22 goals and 41 points in 78 games, fourth on the team in goals, and supplied the secondary scoring and physical edge New Jersey has spent years trying to stock.
A minus-8 rating was not glamorous, but the counting stats justified the contract.
The following year undid most of that goodwill. An injury-heavy 2025-26 left him with three goals and seven points in 38 games, a minus-7, and an average of 11:45 of ice time.
It was among the weakest stretches of a 13-year career, and the organization responded by effectively replacing him over the summer. Through the opening of 2026-27 the demotion has been obvious on the ice: two games, no points, and 7:24 a night.
The immediate trigger is blue-line depth rather than a sudden collapse in the bottom six.
The Devils are evaluating defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler for an undisclosed injury, and with only five other defensemen on the roster they need another body available before Saturday’s game.
Even if Siegenthaler is cleared, carrying an extra defenseman is the safer course. Clearing a forward spot is the simplest way to make that room.
Whether anyone claims Noesen is a separate question. At $2.75 million against recent production, the contract is heavy for a depth winger who is already buried on the depth chart.
Clubs that might want the size and net-front work he showed in Carolina and in his first year back in New Jersey will have to decide whether the remaining term is worth the cap hit.
The expectation around the league is that he clears and can be assigned without compensation.
For New Jersey the calculation is simpler. A player who once solved a scoring problem has become the odd man out, and the roster math of an injured defenseman made the paperwork unavoidable.
If he passes through, the Devils keep the option of recalling him later. If he does not, they shed a contract that no longer matches the role they are willing to give him.
