The New Jersey Devils announced today that the team has signed forward Max Willman to a one-year, two-way contract worth $135,000 ($150,000 guaranteed) at the American Hockey League (AHL) level and $775,000 at the NHL level. The announcement was made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald.
The Devils placed Willman on waivers to be assigned to New Jersey’s AHL affiliate in Utica should he clear on Sunday, Oct. 8, at 2:00 P.M. E.T. Willman, 28, joined New Jersey for training camp on a professional tryout (PTO) deal. The 6’0”, 185lbs forward played in five of the team’s seven preseason games and tallied one goal, which was the game-winning goal against the New York Islanders preseason finale on Fri., Oct. 6.
Willman spent parts of the last four seasons from 2019-20 to 2022-23 with the Philadelphia Flyers organization and was signed as a free agent by the Flyers on Mar. 24, 2021. The lefthanded shot made his NHL debut with Philadelphia on Oct. 15, 2021, vs Vancouver, and has played in 50 career NHL contests while earning six points (4g-2a) and 20 PIM.
Born Feb. 13, 1995, the native of Barnstable, MA, was Buffalo’s fifth-round selection, 121st overall, in the 2014 NHL Draft. Before his NHL experience, Willman played in five seasons at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) level from 2014-15 to 2018-19. The forward played in four seasons at Brown University and finished his NCAA career at Boston University as a Graduate transfer in 2018-19. He totaled 51 career points (17g-34a) in 135 games at the NCAA level. Willman made his professional debut in 2019-20, splitting time in the ECHL with Reading and the AHL with Lehigh Valley. He played 142 regular-season games with Lehigh Valley and totaled 67 points (32g-35a).
