The New Jersey Devils have acquired forward Jayce Hawryluk from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for future considerations, per a team announcement. In addition, the Devils have acquired defenseman Zack Hayes from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Jack Dugan, per another announcement.
As a reminder, players involved in trades completed after the NHL’s March 3rd trade deadline lose NHL eligibility, meaning these trades have AHL implications only.
In Hawryluk, the Devils’ AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, have acquired a former highly-drafted prospect who has settled in as a solid minor-league contributor. Although he’s only played in 19 games for Belleville and scored just eight points, Hawryluk has nearly 100 games of NHL experience under his belt and played very well for the Springfield Thunderbirds in 2018-19, scoring 32 points in 31 games.
He’ll add to the Comets’ forward depth as they ready for the Calder Cup Playoffs, and will replace Dugan in their lineup as he’s headed to the Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.
Dugan, a 2017 fifth-rounder of the Vegas Golden Knights, scored 11 goals and 27 points in 51 games for Utica this season. He was a high-scoring winger in the NCAA at Providence College, and will head to Chicago, the team that was formerly the Golden Knights’ affiliate. (Dugan has not played for the Wolves before, as in his time with the Golden Knights organization he played for the Henderson Silver Knights.)
In exchange for Dugan, Utica is adding Hayes, a 23-year-old blueliner who has already been traded once this season. He played in 14 games for the Henderson Silver Knights, but did not manage to factor into their lineup consistently before being traded.
He played in three NHL games last year as the Golden Knights dealt with significant injury issues on their blueline, and should be able to help bolster a Utica defense that lost Nikita Okhotyuk at the trade deadline, thanks to the Timo Meier deal.