We’re in the dog days of summer, and you’re all hoping for the other shoe to drop with the New Jersey Devils. Everyone is impatiently waiting for the team to finalize their last piece of internal business, and are wondering if that’ll be the final task on the agenda. If we’re being honest, it shouldn’t be. The Devils would go into 2025-26 with a few questionable voids.
Devils Depth Chart: Fitzgerald’s Adds; Post-Free Agency Lineup; Roster Questions
Luke Hughes is the No.1 focus for the Devils’ general manager.
Tom Fitzgerald stated on July 2nd that the youngest Hughes brother was at the top of his checklist in terms of what’s left to do following free agency.
Since then, he’s only re-signed Thomas Bordeleau, a sneaky good depth move, but it’s been radio silence since.
The truth of the matter is, if the Devils are going to sign Luke Hughes to an eight-year contract, now is their only time to do so. As of July 1st, 2026, max-term contracts will be capped at seven years.
Thus, the Devils should be pushing pretty hard to get Hughes locked down as long as possible right now.
That likely means they need to move out money, with $6,131,667 in current cap space. AFP Analytics projects Hughes on a six-year contract to earn an $8,386,810 average annual value. That number only increases with an extra two seasons tacked on.
If you look throughout the league, it’s not like anyone else is making moves. The last transaction of significance was a trade between the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks on July 25th. There’s been very little movement before then since July 2nd.
That’s not an excuse for the Devils to be stagnant, it’s just the reality of a jammed up market.
However, the Devils should still be thinking bigger here. They are right to make Hughes their No.1 priority. Yet, they haven’t addressed two of their biggest needs this summer. They need to fill at least one of the voids, being a top-6 winger, or a third-line center.
Here we go, I’m banging on this drum again.
Tyler Toffoli.
He was dealt at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, scoring at a 35-goal pace. That production has not yet been replaced.
Fitzgerald named Dawson Mercer a candidate last season to step up and add more to the scoresheet. He didn’t, and neither did anyone else, nor did it come by committee in terms of replacing Toffoli’s production.
The Devils have significant forwards up front. Jack Hughes is the centerfold, Nico Hischier continues to prosper, Jesper Bratt is finally getting his flowers, and Timo Meier still has more to offer. Yet, running Ondrej Palat and Stefan Noesen in that mix isn’t going to move the needle from playoff caliber to Stanley Cup contender.
Look, the additions of Connor Brown and Evgeni Dadonov are great if they’re playing in the depth roles they’re expected to be in. However, asking them to do more than their roles is a risk after last season’s disappointing slide following their scorching December.
Yes, Arseni Gritsyuk is a factor here. However, the young Russian forward is perhaps the largest question mark, as we just don’t know how his game is going to translate at hockey’s highest level.
Is there reason to be excited for Gritsyuk? Sure. He’s absolutely showcased his talents overseas. Is there a guarantee he’s going to figure it out in the NHL? Not in the slightest.
Yet, if they left the top-six void open heading into next season to perhaps fill at the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline, they should be fine so long as they fill their third line center role.
Again, Mercer’s name is going to pop up here as their likely best 3C option at the moment. After the Devils traded Erik Haula, and left a few others unsigned, the center depth after Hughes and Hischier appears Mercer, Cody Glass, Juho Lammikko, and perhaps Bordeleau & Shane LaChance.
That group consists of a lot of questions, and no answers.
Suffice to say, if all that’s left is to clear some cap space to sign Hughes, the Devils are going into 2025-26 taking a few risks. They’re hoping a player steps up and breaks through as a top-six forward. It’s been one and a quarter seasons since Toffoli was shipped, and that has yet to happen. And they’re hoping either Mercer can be a center again after playing the first four seasons of his career on the wing, or deferring to a player who is returning to the NHL this year, an undersize, underdog in Bordeleau, or a rookie in LaChance, assuming Glass is playing on the fourth line.
Look around the NHL at the Stanley Cup contenders. The Florida Panthers don’t have any question marks at those positions, do they? How about the Dallas Stars? They sure don’t. The Vegas Golden Knights? Despite their geographical location, they’re not taking any gambles with their forward group.
If the Devils want to be mentioned in the same breath as those teams, they shouldn’t be making any gambles, either.
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