Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the New Jersey Devils have granted Miles Wood permission to speak with other teams around the league about trading for his rights prior to July 1st. This likely signals the end for Wood in New Jersey as he will be an unrestricted free agent in a few days, and it doesn’t appear as though the Devils see him in their future.
New Jersey drafted Wood in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL entry draft and after a season in the NCAA and a cup of coffee in the AHL, Wood found himself as a regular in the Devils lineup. Expectations were high for the Buffalo native after he finished his second full season in the NHL with 19 goals and 13 assists.
It looked as though Wood was well on his way to becoming a solid middle-six forward who could contribute 20 goals a season. However, Wood was never able to duplicate those offensive numbers failing to reach the 30-point mark in each of the next five seasons. He also struggled to elevate his linemates and was frequently guilty of turning the puck over at inopportune times.
Last year Wood posted 13 goals and 14 assists in 76 games and did a much better job driving play and was much more engaged physically, however, he continued to turn the puck over regularly.
Wood will generate some interest on the open market, but it would be surprising to see a team give up an asset to acquire his rights given that free agency is just a few days away and there are plenty of available options that can offer a similar skill set to him. That being said, the market for free agents is weak and teams looking for bottom-six help could do worse than Wood.
Home town Buffalo could be a landing spot for him…better than their 4th line guys…
I’d love to see him join the rangers 4th line
Low salary replacement for Barkley?
Has size, can skate and provide secondary scoring. He’ll find a nice landing spot.
Takes dumb penalties, doesnt drive play, disappears for long periods of time
As do other players without his positive attributes.
He’s a poor man’s Michael Bunting.
Seems like a natural fit for the Leafs, then. Need to replace Bunting AND are “poor” this offseason ;-)
Huge Injury risk.