New Jersey Devils winger Kyle Palmieri is being held out of the team’s lineup vs. the Washington Capitals on Sunday in anticipation of a trade, according to his agent Stephen Bartlett.
The Devils said the soon-to-be free agent will sit for precautionary reasons.
Palmieri, 30, has eight goals and nine assists in 34 games for the lowly Devils, who sit second-last in the East Division with a 13-16-6 record.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported last month that he could see the Boston Bruins, the New York Islanders — given the season-ending injury to captain Anders Lee — and the Toronto Maple Leafs vying for his services.
Palmieri — who is in the final year of a five-year, $23.25-million contract signed with the Devils in July 2016 — is pacing for his worst campaign since 2013-14, his first full season in the NHL.
Since his 2015 trade from the Anaheim Ducks to New Jersey, the native of Smithtown, N.Y., has put up five straight seasons of at least 20 goals.