Lindy Ruff just announced the addition of a formidable new talent to further strengthen his team’s assault.
Max Willman, a forward, has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the New Jersey Devils. The deal is worth $135,000 ($150,000 guaranteed) in the American Hockey League (AHL) and $775,000 in the National Hockey League (NHL). Executive Vice President and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald delivered the statement.
On Sunday, October 8, at 2:00 PM, the Devils placed Willman on waivers, with the intention of assigning him to Utica, the AHL affiliate of New Jersey, should he clear. E.T. Willman, 28, signed a professional tryout (PTO) contract and traveled to New Jersey for training camp. The 6’0″, 185-pound forward scored the game-winning goal against the New York Islanders in the team’s preseason finale on Friday, October 6, while playing in five of the team’s seven preseason games.
Willman played for the Philadelphia Flyers for a portion of the previous four seasons, from 2019–20 to 2022–2023. On March 24, 2021, the Flyers signed him as a free agent. The left-handed shooter made his NHL debut with Philadelphia on October 15, 2021, against Vancouver. In 50 NHL games, he has collected 20 PIM and six points (4g-2a).
A Barnstable, Massachusetts native, he was selected by Buffalo in the fifth round (121st overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft. He was born on February 13, 1995. Willman participated in five National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) seasons from 2014–15 to 2018–19 prior to entering the NHL. The forward attended Brown University for four seasons before completing his NCAA career as a graduate transfer at Boston University in 2018–19. In 135 NCAA games, he scored 51 points (17g-34a) in his career. In 2019–20, Willman made his professional debut, playing for Lehigh Valley in the AHL and Reading in the ECHL. With Lehigh Valley, he participated in 142 games during the regular season and scored 67 points (32g-35a).
