Riley Tufte
Tufte is a size-and-shooting depth forward option who signed a one-year, one-way, $850,000 deal with New Jersey on July 1, 2026, but he heads into the last days of camp fighting for a bottom-six NHL job rather than holding one.
Role
In the Devils' September 20 exhibition against the Islanders (NHL.com preview, published 9/20/26) Tufte was one of 12 forwards dressed in a game the club framed as giving young players and roster hopefuls a look rather than a preview of the opening-night lineup. In the projected lineup for the September 24 exhibition against the Rangers (Inside The Rink, checked 9/24/26), he was slotted on a third forward line with Colin White and Xavier Parent, again alongside other camp/AHL-caliber players rather than New Jersey's presumptive top-nine group. As of September 25-26, outlets tracking training camp cuts (Pro Hockey Rumors, Yardbarker) show the Devils still finalizing roster decisions, and it is not settled from current reporting whether Tufte has already been reassigned to AHL Utica or remains in the mix for an opening-night NHL spot. No power-play unit assignment for Tufte has been reported.
He is coming off his best pro season, posting 32 goals and 56 points in 64 AHL games with Providence in 2025-26 (RotoWire), he is a 6-foot-6 shooter New Jersey signed to a one-way NHL contract rather than a two-way deal, and CBS Sports' fantasy note (recent) says a Devils injury during the year could open a path to NHL minutes for him.
That same CBS Sports note states plainly that despite the one-way contract, Tufte is likely to fall short of making the Devils' NHL roster out of camp, and both exhibition lineups found so far have had him grouped with fringe and AHL-track players rather than the club's established bottom-six forwards, who a New Jersey Devils Advocates camp report (about a week old) suggests are already set with players like Cody Glass and Connor Brown.
Where analysts split
The concrete question is whether Tufte breaks the Devils' 84-game opening-night NHL roster at all this season or begins the year with AHL Utica; CBS Sports leans toward the latter, while his one-way contract and camp inclusion in exhibition games keep the question open, and no source found has definitively confirmed his final camp outcome as of September 26.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
Others at LW
Fantasy Memo reads your league and answers that every Monday, and checks your lineup on the days you play.
Connect your league: 14 days free