- Simon Nemec gave his first extended comments on the June trade that sent him from the Devils to the Flames
- The 22-year-old says he never asked out, but he was stuck third on New Jersey’s power-play depth chart
- Read below for what Nemec told Flames coach Ryan Huska he wants in Calgary
Simon Nemec is not going to pretend the last year in New Jersey was fun.
The 22-year-old defenseman met with reporters at the NHL/NHLPA European Player Media Tour in Munich on Friday and gave his first real accounting of the June trade that shipped him to Calgary. Tom Gulitti of NHL.com asked how he felt the day he learned he had been dealt.
“I was happy. It wasn’t easy time in New Jersey and I was like, ‘Finally, it was figured out.’”
Nemec was careful about how the split actually came together.
“I didn’t ask for a trade, but there were some conversations that it didn’t work out for me, for the team. New Jersey got a new GM, and he decided to go this way and I’m totally fine with that.”
New Jersey sent Nemec and forward Maxim Tsyplakov to Calgary on June 23 for conditional first-round picks in 2027 and 2028, a 2026 second-rounder and defense prospect Etienne Morin. It was the first move Sunny Mehta made after taking over as Devils general manager from Tom Fitzgerald in April.
The power play is where the frustration lived. Nemec averaged 1:14 a game on the man advantage last season, third among New Jersey defensemen behind Dougie Hamilton (2:04) and Luke Hughes (2:01), and that sliver of ice time produced one goal and one assist.
He was blunt about what he wants out of the move.
“I want to be on the No. 1 power play. I think Calgary can offer me that. I need to fight for that, but I will be ready for it. We were three guys in New Jersey. We all wanted to play first power play, and it didn’t work well for me.”
Everything else about his season said he had earned a longer look. Nemec set career highs with 11 goals and 26 points in 68 games while averaging 19:40 a night.
His 10 even-strength goals led all Devils defensemen, and his three overtime winners tied Evan Bouchard for the most by any blueliner in the league. That total sat one shy of the single-season record shared by Shayne Gostisbehere and Scott Niedermayer.
Calgary paid him like a player it plans to lean on. The No. 2 pick from the 2022 draft signed a five-year, $36.25 million contract on July 6 that carries a $7.25 million cap hit.
None of Friday’s message was new, either. Hours after the deal in June, Nemec called Calgary “a good young team” and “a really good spot for me,” and the Flames posted it:
Nemec said he has talked with Flames coach Ryan Huska two or three times about his role, and the instruction was to show up ready for a bigger one.
He flies from Slovakia to Calgary next week. A Flames team that went 34-39-9 and has missed the playoffs four years running just handed Nemec the runway New Jersey never gave him.
