To think at one point in the 2025-26 season, the New Jersey Devils occupied first place in the Metropolitan Division. That feels like a distant memory now.
The eight-game win streak in October has proven to be a mirage. The once speedy and skilled Devils are now slow, lethargic, and seemingly unconnected as a group.
Now that the 2026 Winter Olympics are underway and there’s 25 games remaining when the NHL season resumes, the Devils’ fate in their 2025-26 season is clear.
Barring some miracle run that would propel them to the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs—which would require teams in the standings around them to falter—the Devils’ season is over.
With the likelihood that the season is cooked, big changes are ahead. General manager Tom Fitzgerald’s days are seemingly numbered and head coach Sheldon Keefe should follow him out the door.
Yet, on paper, the Devils appeared to be a better team than in 2024-25. A team that at least made it to the postseason.
So, how did we get here?
The Differences
The Goaltending
Perhaps, the foresight on this should have been better. Relying on two 35-year-old goaltenders should have been a more obvious gamble, and the Devils lost all their chips on red.
Jake Allen has been fine, and for his new, cheap cap hit, you take his services at that price in a 1B/backup role.
However, in the scope of the full season, Jacob Markstrom‘s turned in a dreadful season, even if he was stronger going into the Olympic break.
It’s not easy to overcome a 3.20 goals against average and .882 save percentage with an 84th ranked -11 goals saved above expected to boot. And Markstrom’s new two-year extension hasn’t even kicked in yet.
The Devils signed Markstrom and Allen to be the Devils’ backbone after a blackhole occupied the crease for years in New Jersey on end.
However, they’ve become the very thing the Devils strived to be rid of with seemingly no solution. It’s proven too difficult to overcome.
The Top-Six
The depth scoring this season has been horrible. That hasn’t changed from last season. However, what has changed are the Devils’ top guys.
The top-six is far worse than last season despite a similar makeup.
Sure, the Devils are struggling as a group. However, the individual performances of Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier are worse than before.
It got to the point where the Devils head coach even went as far as to put them on blast, explaining the players in the top six get the minutes. They need to make a difference and they’re not.
All three of Hischier, Bratt, and Meier are on track for fewer goals and points than last season. Paired with Dawson Mercer—who is on pace for his average production and seemingly isn’t the top-six player they hoped he’d be—and the Devils’ top-six is extremely mediocre. Especially when their superstar is out with an injury…
No True No.1 Defenseman
What’s evident this season is the Devils lack a true No.1 defenseman.
New Jersey is in an awkward transition period where they wanted to pass the torch from Dougie Hamilton to Luke Hughes. However, that wasn’t a seamless transition.
At times, they tried to forcefeed Luke in a No.1 role at even strength and on special teams. The 22-year-old defenseman proved thus far to be unprepared to take on an increased role. All while Hamilton proved to be on a decline, until a recent resurgence in his play.
Yet, Hamilton’s recent performance is too little too late.
The Devils needed Hamilton to turn on about 30 games earlier than he did. And although Luke and Hamilton both weren’t necessarily true No.1 defenseman last season, they were both better overall than they were in 2025-26.
Off-Ice Drama
Perhaps the Devils’ biggest downfall this season was the off-ice drama. From the Chicago Cut, to the Quinn Hughes debacle, and the Hamilton trade that never happened going public, there was far more off-ice drama in New jersey than ever before.
Jack Hughes missing time from a “freak accident” was the start. Yet, the Devils at least clawed their way through that to stay afloat in the standings until he returned.
The Quinn drama, however, began near the time Jack returned and Keefe admitted it caused off-ice distraction.
The Devils never quite recovered after that. Some names were discussed in trade discussions, those rumors leaked, and perhaps it had the locker room on edge.
Even after Quinn was moved to Minnesota, the drama ensued.
Sure, the publicity between Dougie Hamilton‘s agent and the Devils GM actually saw the former improve his play. But make no mistake that kind of situation sours the locker room as a whole. Sometimes, you can’t control what happens on the ice. But at the very least, you can control the noise off it. When was the last time you heard drama off the ice on a Lou Lamoriello-led team?
You haven’t.
The Similarities
Mental Toughness
When Keefe called out the Devils’ mental toughness, it wasn’t the first time this season. In fact, it wasn’t the first time in his two seasons as head coach.
Keefe wants the Devils to be a harder team to play against. A team that isn’t easily pushed around. A team that can overcome a deficit. And one that can dig deep when times get tough.
The Devils haven’t shown that this year and it’s gotten far worse.
When trailing heading into the third period last year, New Jersey went 1-24-2. That’s no better this season with a 1-19-1 record thus far.
It’s a shame, too. The Devils certainly know how to hold onto a lead, with a perfect 18-0-0 record when leading after 40 minutes. If only they could find the fight to get back into games.
Jack Hughes
Lastly, perhaps the most detrimental thing that remains an issue is the health of Jack Hughes. The Devils star forward’s inability to stay healthy persists for three seasons in a row now.
In the last two seasons, Jack missed 20 games each after he required season-ending shoulder surgery that needed long-term rehab into the summer months.
This season, Jack severed his pinky on glass while at a team dinner in Chicago. It required surgery and he missed six weeks of play.
Before the injury, he was scoring at what could have been a career-high 48-goal pace. After the injury, he hasn’t been able to regain that form.
And then when the Devils needed him most in crucial games with important points on the table to keep New Jersey’s season at least on life support, he became injured again—a lower-body injury that shelved him for the last three games—and the Devils dropped all six points.
Jack’s injuries are concerning. The Devils go as he goes. Yet, far too often Jack is stuck at the red light.
It’s at the point now where the Devils organization has to question whether they can be successful with him as the face of their franchise.
