Eastern Conference off-season preview: New Jersey Devils

Injuries to key players tend to derail a season.

That was the case for the New Jersey Devils in 2024-25, as Jack Hughes suffered an injury in Las Vegas in early March. While they made the playoffs, they didn’t do a whole lot, leading to an important off-season for the franchise.

Let’s take a look at how their 2024-25 season went, what they did over the off-season, and how the team stacks up heading into the new season.

How the season went

The New Jersey Devils have been in a weird spot for a while. After shockingly making the Stanley Cup Finals in 2012, they made the post-season just once over the next 10 seasons. Finally, they returned to the post-season in 2022-23 for the first time since 2017-18, defeating the New York Rangers in seven games, before falling to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games..

Their luck finally changed, right? Wrong, as goaltending let them down in 2023-24, once again missing the postseason. The Devils did something about their goaltending in the 2024 off-season, trading Kevin Bahl and a 2025 first round pick to the Calgary Flames for Jacob Markström.

That seemed to help, as the Devils finished with a 42-33-7 record with 91 points, somehow worse than the Flames who happened to miss the post-season. But without Hughes, the Devils didn’t stand a chance in the first round, falling in five games to the Hurricanes once again.

Drafted players

The Devils’ first-round pick transferred to the Flames, meaning that their highest pick was the 50th overall selection in the 2025 draft. With it, the Devils selected centre Conrad Fondrk from the U.S. National Development Team in the United States Hockey League. 

Their next two picks also came from the USHL, using the 63rd overall pick to draft winger Ben Kevan, and using their third-round pick to draft centre Mason Moe. The Devils had two fourth-round picks, using the 99th overall pick to select netminder Trenten Bennett from the Kemptville 73s of the Central Canadian Hockey League – not often you see a player drafted from that league. If you’re ever in the Nation’s Capital region, don’t go to Kemptville, it’s boring.

Swedish centre Gustav Hillström was selected with the 114th overall pick. The Devils also had two sixth-round picks, using the 161st overall pick to draft Czech forward David Rozsival and the 178th overall pick to select Swedish defenceman Siggie Holmgren.

Trades

The Devils didn’t do a whole lot on the trade front. They cleared some cap space by sending Erik Haula to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Jeremy Hanzel and a 2025 fourth-round pick. Their other move saw them trade Shane Bowers to the San Jose Sharks for Thomas Bordeleau.

Free agent signings

As for free agency signings, the Devils were a bit more active. On the opening day of free agency, they signed former Edmonton Oiler Connor Brown to a four-year deal worth $3 million, well deserved after a good post-season performance.

They also agreed to terms with Evgenii Dadonov for a one-year deal worth $1 million, as well as Cody Glass to a two-year deal worth $2.5 million annually. The Devils locked up netminder Jake Allen, signing him to a five-year deal worth $1.8 million annually.

One notable restricted free agent who hasn’t been signed is defenceman Luke Hughes. Whether that gets done before the season begins is anyone’s best guess.

Departures

Erik Haula was easily their biggest departure, as he finished with 11 goals and 21 points in 69 games last season. That said, Brown will be his replacement, and he’s fully capable of outscoring Haula’s 2024-25 numbers.

Tomáš Tatar departed for Switzerland, while Brian Dumoulin signed a three-year deal with the Los Angeles Kings. Curtis Lazar signed a one-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers.

What the team looks like heading into 2025-26

So, how do the Devils shape up heading into the 2025-26 season? They have a strong centre core that features J. Hughes, Nico Hischier, Dawson Mercer, and Cody Glass. Their wing core isn’t as strong, as Ondrej Palat, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, and Stefan Noesen are expected to fit in the top six. Brown, Arseni Gritsyuck, Paul Cotter, and Dadonov are expected to be in the bottom six.

The Devils’ defence core is solid. It features former Calgary Flame Dougie Hamilton, Brenden Dillon, L. Hughes, Brett Pesce, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Šimon Nemec. Hughes’ availability is dependent on him signing a contract.

As for the Devils’ tandem, they’ll run back Markström and Allen.