Devils, Panthers swap AHL scorers Ben Steeves and Angus Crookshank
Ben Steeves brings 23-goal pop to Utica, but Angus Crookshank gives Charlotte the more proven AHL scorer in a deal that shifts both affiliates’ top-six races.
Ben Steeves is headed to Utica after a 23-goal season in Charlotte, and Angus Crookshank is moving to Charlotte with a résumé that already includes 101 AHL goals. That is the real story here: the Devils and Panthers did not just shuffle NHL options, they changed who gets first crack at top-six minutes, power-play usage and recall insurance in two of the league’s most watched affiliates.
Steeves arrives with a strong recent case to make. He was added to the Atlantic Division roster for the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic in Rockford, Illinois, then finished 2025-26 with 23 goals and 45 points in 72 games for the Checkers. Across 140 AHL games in Charlotte, he posted 75 points, a steady enough pace to project him as a scoring-line winger rather than a passenger. He also had a real playoff footprint, including four goals and four assists in 21 postseason games over his Checkers tenure, and he scored in Charlotte’s 4-3 overtime win in Game 5 of the 2025 Calder Cup Finals on June 21, 2025, a goal that forced the series back to Charlotte.
Crookshank is the more established AHL finisher, and that is why Charlotte probably won the deeper end of this swap. He led Utica with 24 goals in 2025-26, was a four-time 20-goal scorer in the AHL and entered the trade with 101 goals and 84 assists in 262 AHL games between Belleville and Utica. He was also an AHL All-Star in 2024, and his pro track record includes 29 NHL games, three goals and two assists, plus a first NHL goal two days after his debut on Dec. 17, 2023. New Jersey had already bet on him once, signing him to a two-year deal on July 1, 2025, with a two-way first year and a one-way second year.
For the affiliates, the fit is straightforward. Steeves gives Utica a younger winger with recent scoring punch, but Crookshank brings the more bankable AHL profile to Charlotte, the kind of player who can soak up heavy offensive minutes, take a regular turn on the power play and keep the Checkers from leaning too hard on one scorer. On the AHL side of the trade, Florida improved its outlook more because Charlotte got the more proven top-six driver.
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