Devils add power winger Riley Tufte on a one-year, $850,000 deal

The New Jersey Devils announced they have signed forward Riley Tufte to a one-year, one-way NHL contract worth $850,000, giving the organization another option on the wing as the summer business of roster-building continues. The move is the type that often flies under the broader radar in free agency, but it carries a clear basketball-to-hockey logic: translate an established scoring profile from the American Hockey League to a reliable NHL role.

Tufte, listed at 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds, arrives with recent production out of the Bruins system. In his most recent full AHL season, he scored 32 goals and 24 assists for 56 points in 64 games with Providence, ranking among the better goal totals in the league and finishing fourth in goals. He also recorded a +28 plus-minus rating that year, and the Devils’ statement framed his scoring and two-way contributions as a reason the deal makes sense.

While he has been a mainstay at the AHL level, Tufte is not new to the NHL. The Devils said he has appeared in 28 career NHL regular-season games over five seasons, totaling three goals and one assist for four points. In the same release, New Jersey noted that he skated in four games with Boston recently and scored one goal, a look that is often used to evaluate whether a player’s game can carry at the highest level, even if the sample size remains limited.

The contract is also noteworthy because it is one-way, meaning Tufte is set to earn NHL pay regardless of where he plays during the season. For a player who has spent substantial time in the minors, one-way terms can be interpreted as organizational confidence that his role will not be purely emergency call-up depth. The Devils will still need to decide how to deploy him day to day, but one-way status generally reduces the risk of an early-season demotion plan.

New Jersey’s addition connects back to Tufte’s draft background and development route. He was originally selected by Dallas in the first round (25th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft. Before turning pro, he played three seasons at the University of Minnesota Duluth, from 2016-17 to 2018-19, and was part of back-to-back national championship teams. The Devils also highlighted his collegiate production, including 34 goals and 30 assists (64 points) in 121 NCAA contests.

In professional competition, Tufte’s NHL resume is still building, but his broader track record in the AHL gives the Devils a reason to believe he can contribute offensively. The team said he has recorded 111 goals and 111 assists for 222 points across 395 AHL games, and that his playoff experience includes 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 24 Calder Cup playoff games. That history matters because teams often need depth scoring not only during the regular season, but also when line-matching and game-to-game adjustments become more demanding.

For Devils fans, the question now shifts from contract to placement. Tufte’s blend of size, left-handed shooting, and documented goal scoring suggests he could be used in situations that demand net-front presence and sustained pressure, especially if New Jersey seeks a winger who can finish chances as well as create them. The next watch item is how the coaching staff integrates him into practice reps and preseason usage patterns, which will clarify whether he is viewed as a top-rotation winger option or a specialized depth scorer.