The New Jersey Devils are making moves to fill the void left by Jack Hughes, bringing in center Cody Glass from the Pittsburgh Penguins. The deal will send a third-round pick and minor leaguers to Pittsburgh, according to insider reports from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun.
It’s been a tough road for Glass, who hasn’t quite lived up to the hype since being drafted sixth overall by Vegas in 2017. He was actually the Golden Knights’ first-ever draft pick – talk about pressure.
The 25-year-old has put up just 4 goals and 15 points in 51 games this season with Pittsburgh. Not exactly the numbers you’d expect from a former top-10 pick.
But there’s more to his game than scoring. Glass has won 52.7% of his faceoffs this year – the best of his career – while adding 43 hits and 31 blocked shots. Pretty solid defensive stats for a bottom-six forward.
Back in his junior hockey days, Glass was absolutely lighting it up. He posted some crazy numbers in the WHL:
– 94 points in 69 games in his draft year
– 102 points in 64 games the next season
– 69 points in just 38 games after that
The scoring touch just hasn’t translated to the NHL level. After a promising start with 5 points in his first 6 AHL games, things got complicated. Injuries, inconsistent playing time, and bouncing between teams have all played a part in his struggle to find his groove.
He did have one bright spot with Nashville in 2022-23, scoring 14 goals and 35 points in 72 games – his best NHL season yet. But last year was rough again: just 13 points in 41 games before getting shipped to Pittsburgh.
Now he’s heading to New Jersey, where there’s suddenly a lot of ice time up for grabs. With Hughes out for the season, the Devils need someone to help fill those 21 minutes per game.
Glass will battle it out with Erik Haula and possibly Dawson Mercer for playing time down the middle. There might even be some power play opportunities – exactly what he needs to try and rediscover that scoring touch that made him such a promising prospect.
