Fringe Signings (July 16)

The Minnesota Wild re-signed restricted free agent forward Jason Zucker to a new 2-year deal on Tuesday. Zucker hasn't quite lived up to the hype of his arrival in the NHL, hardly figuring into the everyday line-up for the Wild in 2+ seasons with the club, last season only playing in 21 games, scoring 4 goals and adding an assist.  With the team giving him a new deal, there must be some belief that the potential he showed in his college career can still be realized.

The New Jersey Devils and their prospect pool is really hit or miss, but their depth is so shallow that some of those misses just keep hanging around. Jacob Josefson has been far from a hit in the four seasons he has appeared in for the Devils, last season scoring 1 goal and 3 points in 27 games.  The 2009 1st round pick will get another shot at making the NHL roster, signing a deal on Tuesday, which was likely a 1-year deal, probably in the neighbourhood of $600,000, if I had to guess... since there were no numbers disclosed.

The New York Islanders were busy re-signing restricted free agents on Tuesday and a couple of fringe hockey pool players popped up in forward Casey Cizikas, who signed a 2-year deal and defenseman Calvin De Haan, who signed a 3-year deal.  Cizikas became a full-time roster player last season, getting into 80 games and picking up 16 points, and should have a little bit of upside with a bit more experience.  Possibly a sleeper?  De Haan, on the other hand, has a pretty good shot at making the roster out of training camp, as he did manage to play in 51 games last season, picking up 3 goals and 16 points in that time.

By default, the signing of Matthew Lombardi by the New York Rangers moves the speedy forward into their projected roster, which now has only six forwards on it, including the new signing.  Lombardi's last few seasons in the NHL were very poor, which forced him out of the game after the 2013 season, but a resurgence in the Swedish Elite League has turned some heads and it had earned him a 2-year deal in the Big Apple.  There are no guarantees that Lombardi will be a hockey pool-type player in the 2015 season, but he could sleep his way into another look or two.