New Additions: F Connor Brown (4yr x $3M AAV), F Evgeny Dadonov (1yr x $1M), D Calen Addison (1yr x $775k), F Thomas Bordeleau (from SJS), F Kevin Rooney (PTO), F Luke Glendening (PTO)

Subtractions: F Erik Haula (to NSH), F Shane Bowers (to SJS), F Tomas Tatar (FA), F Nathan Bastian (to DAL), F Justin Dowling (to NYR), D Brian Dumoulin (to LAK), F Curtis Lazar (to EDM)

Retentions/Extensions: G Jake Allen (5yr x $1.8M AAV), D Dennis Cholowski (1yr x $775k), F Cody Glass (2yr x $2.5M AAV), F Thomas Bordeleau (1yr x $775k)

The Sheldon Keefe era in New Jersey got off to a pretty good start, with three months to go in the regular season, the team was tied for second in the Eastern Conference, looking poised to make it back to the playoffs and potentially go on a run. However, the team started playing worse, finishing the second half of the season by losing more games than they won. Luckily their division was weak and 91 points was good enough for third place in the Metro. Unluckily, Jack Hughes suffered a season ending injury in early March, not only shutting down their best player, but their hopes of doing anything this season. Now their play tailed off before the injury, but it did not help that he was out of the lineup. He is expected to be back for the start of the upcoming season.

Already entering his seventh season in the league, Jack Hughes is hoping for a big year. He is chasing his first 100 point season (99 points in 2022-23), but more than that, he is wishing for a healthy season, as he has been limited to 62 games the previous two seasons. The 2019 1st overall pick’s career got off to a slow start, with 52 points in his first 117 games, but since the start of the 2021-22 season he has been a point per game player. Any discussion about his value is long gone as he is unquestionably one of the most skilled players in the league. If he is able to play 82 games for the first time in his career, I think 100 points is easily on the table.

Jack is the kind of player who can create offense all by himself, but that does not mean he needs to, the Devils forward core is among the best offensive units in the league. Jesper Bratt led the team in scoring last year with a career high 88 points, marking a fifth straight season in which his points per game has increased. Already a great player, I still think Bratt has not yet reached his ceiling. Captain Nico Hischier is one of the best two-way forwards in the NHL, and his defensive game has been strong his whole career. Where he does not get enough credit is for his offensive game, as the Swiss centerman has 60-80 points in each of the last four seasons, and last year he set a career high in goals with 35, and leading the league in goals at a point. Him and Hughes are perhaps the second best 1-2 punch down the middle behind the guys in Edmonton.

Speaking of great 1-2 punches, the Devils can say that about all of their position groups. 

On defense, Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes are both capable of being a team’s number one defenceman, and having two is never a bad thing. Hamilton, 32, has always been a goal scoring threat from the point, having scored double digit goals eight times in his career. Lately, he has had trouble staying healthy, but 64 games last year after an injury plagued 2023-24 season was a good sign. Hughes, 22, has put up 47 and 44 points in his first two seasons in the NHL. This year Luke hopes to improve his production, and show the league that there are more than two elite players in the Hughes family. 

In net, Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen form one of the best tandems across the league. New Jersey could not go wrong last season, as both goalies gave them a chance to win and were a large part in why the Devils allowed the fifth fewest goals in the league. The team traded defenseman Kevin Bahl and their 2025 first round pick to acquire Markstrom last year, as the team was looking for an established starter after they had four goalies play at least 13 games for them the previous year. Allen is much more suited for the backup role, and after re-signing in New Jersey (5yr x $1.8M AAV), he looks to have that role locked down for the foreseeable future.

The complimentary forwards are headlined by Timo Meier, who is actually the team’s highest paid forward. That contract was given to Timo at the height of his career, when he came over at the trade deadline from San Jose. He has had a hard time finding his footing in New Jersey, or at least producing at the level he was when the team traded for him. He remains a solid scoring forward in the top six, as he has scored more than 25 the past two seasons in New Jersey. 

Other forwards include Dawson Mercer, 23, who has played in all 82 games all four years of his career, and averaged over 20 goals a season. Veterans like Ondrej Palat, Stefan Noesen, and newly signed Evgeny Dadonov bring their experience to the table. Another free agent signing Connor Brown, brings the experience of being to two straight Stanley Cup Finals to the table, and hopes to return with a new team.

Playing alongside Hughes and Hamilton on D is an interesting supporting cast, as every other defenceman on the roster is either older than 27 or younger than 22. The older group includes Brett Pesce, Brendan Dillon, Jonathan Kovacevic and Jonas Siegenthaler, who are solid in their own end, allowing the two best defencemen to play to their strengths and be a little more offensive minded. The young guns are both from the 2022 NHL Draft, second round pick Seamus Casey, and first round pick (2nd overall) Simon Nemec. Casey was impressive in a limited showing last season, as he scored 4 goals, along with 4 assists in just 14 games, unfortunately for him there are a lot of veteran defencemen on this roster and it might be another year before he plays in the NHL full time. Nemec has been underwhelming as a top two pick, as he has struggled in the NHL, spending most of his time in the minors since being drafted. The team is hoping their patience will pay off and he can grow to be the player they believe he can become. He showed a bit of flash in the playoffs last season, as he scored the overtime winner in the team’s only win in their five game series versus the Hurricanes.

I am choosing to not entertain the Quinn Hughes to New Jersey storyline, because I think Vancouver has no intentions of moving their captain. I hope the talk around the Devils this year is more about their on ice play, than about trade rumours. They have the chance to be a real contender in the Eastern Conference this year, if they stay healthy, they should be a safe bet to make the playoffs. Last year they had no Jack Hughes in the playoffs, the time before that they did not have Jacob Markstrom (who was the team’s best player against Carolina). If they make the playoffs again this year, and have both of those players active and healthy, the Devils are capable of making a deep run.