New Jersey Devils vs Pittsburgh Penguins 3.17.15

Mike Cammalleri said he thinks he is finally over the hump from the wrist injury that forced him to miss the end of the 2015-16 season.

(Saed Hindash | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

NEWARK - The second half of the 2015-16 season was frustrating for Mike Cammalleri.

He battled through a wrist injury, trying to push his way back, but setbacks kept him off the ice for the rest of the season after last appearing in a game for the Devils on Jan. 26.

Now midway through the summer, Cammalleri finally feels like he is in a good spot.

"I think I'm finally over the hump. It's been an interesting summer, trying to get to the bottom of, the root of what was going on," Cammalleri told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday. "And I think we've found some interesting things and worked on them. I've skated the past few weeks without any recourse, so we're in good shape."

Losing Cammalleri was a big blow for the Devils last season, as the team was in the playoff hunt prior to his injury. He was one of the team's top producers, logging 38 points through 42 games before missing the rest of the year.

Cammalleri said he would have made the same push to get back regardless of the team's spot in the standings, but other factors played into the complex injury.

"I kept trying to come back and I kept re-injuring it, so it was really frustrating. It was challenging for a lot of reasons," he said. "All players hate to be injured, but I thought we had a pretty good start, first half of the season last year, and I got hurt, we were in position for a playoff spot.

"Not being a part of that for the second half was just really disappointing."

Now Cammalleri's focus is shifted to helping the team make a similar push this season, and when he does take the ice again, he'll be doing it with some new faces around him.

With the addition of Taylor Hall, plus the rest of the Devils' free-agent moves, Cammalleri can see the potential.

"It's been an interesting offseason. There's obviously been some transactions that are very buzzy," Cammalleri said. "As a player, you're seeing coaching and management do everything they can in a meaningful way to make the team better."

Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.