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New Jersey Devils 2026-27 Player Projections: Jesper Boqvist

Jesper Boqvist, New Jersey Devils (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

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New Jersey Devils 2026-27 Player Projections: Jesper Boqvist

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Jess Amato | Last updated Sep 10, 2026 8:35 AM ET

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The New Jersey Devils are facing a ton of pressure heading into the 2026-27 season. They have a strong team, but last season, they crumbled and missed the postseason after a solid start. The Devils are determined not to let that happen again.

Each player has a role to fill, and as we gear up for the season, we can start predicting how each player will perform as we continue our Devils’ player projections through the forward group. Next up is returning player Jesper Boqvist.

2025-26 Performance

Boqvist spent the entirety of the 2025-26 season with the Florida Panthers. He played in 73 games and recorded 13 points via four goals and nine assists.

He was off to a strong start, scoring his first goal of the season in his first game on Oct. 7. Boqvist would go throughout the rest of the season where he would record a point, either scoring a goal or recording an assist, and then it would be a few games before his next one would be recorded. Despite a streaky performance on the offensive side of things, he still had an overall decent 2025-26 season.

Expectations for the 2026-27 Season

The Devils acquired Boqvist on June 30. He was part of the trade that sent Boqvist, Ben Steeves, and Evan Rodrigues to New Jersey. In exchange, the Panthers received Jacob Markstrom and Angus Crookshank. Just like Markstrom was going back to the team that he began his NHL career with, Boqvist is now doing the same.

Heading back to New Jersey, Boqvist’s primary goal will be to keep the bottom six in check. The Devils’ management clearly wanted to upgrade their forward group after acquiring Rodrigues, Anthony Mantha, and Luke Evangelista during the offseason. With Evangelista likely rounding out the top six, that leaves Boqvist to play in the bottom six.

Considering Boqvist spent the majority of his time last season in the bottom six, he will be right at home back in this position with the Devils. Boqvist will be a great veteran presence there, helping to train and develop some of the younger players. He can add offensive power to the bottom six when the opportunity presents itself.

The Devils are taking on the final year of Boqvist’s two-year contract, which has a cap hit of $1.5 million. If Boqvist doesn’t provide the level of compete that the Devils are expecting, then it is no sweat off their back. However, it will lead to uncertainty for Boqvist regarding his next contract. He’ll want to eliminate this and play to the best of his ability to try and guarantee a contract for next season.

Upcoming Career Milestones

Boqvist is just 13 games shy of his 400th NHL game. He should reach this great milestone early on in the season, which will be a great accomplishment to hit with the team that he began his career with.

Boqvist currently has 105 points in his NHL career, so it doesn’t seem likely that he will reach another 95 points before the season is done. Same with his overall goals and assists. He has 50 goals and 55 assists. Unless he has a super impressive offensive performance, it doesn’t seem like he’ll reach either 100 goals or 100 assists this season. However, he can continue to chip away at these records to get to a point where he can potentially reach the 100-goal or assist milestone next season.

Projections for the 2026-27 Season

My bold prediction is that Boqvist will break a 20-plus point season. He has done it three times in his NHL career now, twice with the Devils in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and most recently with the Panthers in 2024-25. While 20 points doesn’t seem like a whole lot, Boqvist’s career high is 23.

With new linemates and a fresh team, it seems likely that Boqvist can have another strong personal offensive season.