James Nichols
With just over 24 hours until the 2026 NHL trade deadline, the New Jersey Devils are seemingly preparing for something after their latest transaction.
On Thursday, New Jersey waived forwards Evgeni Dadonov, Luke Glendening, and Maxim Tsyplakov.
Why did the Devils opt to do this? Well, waiving each player saves the Devils money against their salary cap. The Devils intend to make some moves by Friday’s 3 P.M. deadline.
Thus, they’ll want as much wiggle room as possible. As of Thursday, the Devils own $2,935,614 in cap space.
Dadonov and Glendening’s full cap hit will be relieved. However, because Tsyplakov’s $2.25 million cap hit is more than the $1.15 million max buriable relief, the Devils will only recieve the $1.15 million.
So, if all three players clear waivers on Friday at 2 P.M., what happens?
Calculation If All Three Clear Waivers (Buried in AHL)
Dadonov relief: min($1M, $1.15M) = $1 million
Glendening relief: min($775K, $1.15M) = $775,000
Tsyplakov relief: min($2.25M, $1.15M) = $1.15 million
Total relief: $1M + $775K + $1.15M = $2.925 million
New current cap space: $5,860,614
There is only one scenario where the Devils can get even more cap relief. That’s if a team claims Tsyplakov, which will full relieve New Jersey of his $2.25 million.
Calculation If Tsyplakov Is Claimed (Others Clear)
Dadonov relief: $1 million (buried)
Glendening relief: $775,000 (buried)
Tsyplakov relief: $2.25 million (full, since claimed)
Total relief: $1M + $775K + $2.25M = $4.025 million
New current cap space: $6,960,614
The Devils could be gearing up for something big. Simon Nemec‘s name is out there and available for an upgrade to New Jersey’s top-six. In other words, a scorer that can play on Jack Hughes’ line.
Other names to watch are Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler, Johnathan Kovacevic, Brenden Dillon, Cody Glass, and Nick Bjugstad.
In the American Hockey League, Seamus Casey is another name to watch.
