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[New Jersey Devils]

Should the Devils Consider Extending Jacob Markstrom?

Jacob Markstrom making a glove save vs. Carolina | Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images

Jacob Markstrom is entering a contract year and the Devils will have to make a decision on his future.

Prior to the 2024-25 season, the New Jersey Devils acquired Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames in an attempt to solve their perennial goaltending woes once and for all.

Overall, Markstrom had a solid first season for the Devils, posting a .900 save percentage and 3.4 goals saved above expected over 49 games. There were plenty of positives as he was 4th in the NHL on high danger unblocked shot attempt save percentage among goaltenders who appeared in 30 or more games. There were a lot of games where Markstrom made brilliant save after brilliant save to keep the Devils in said game. There were also several instances where Markstrom would let in a soft goal and leave everyone scratching their heads and asking themselves “how did THAT go in”, as seen by his .959 low danger unblocked shot attempt save percentage, 39th in the NHL. If you gave Tom Fitzgerald and Sheldon Keefe some truth serum though, I suspect that they’d be content with what Markstrom did over the course of the 2024-25 campaign.

The Devils knew when they acquired Markstrom that this might be a relatively short-term pact, as he had two years remaining on his contract and is already in his mid 30s. With that first season in the books, Markstrom is eligible to sign an extension with the Devils at any point as he enters a contract year. But should the Devils consider doing that and committing to Markstrom past the 2025-26 campaign?

The Case For Extending Markstrom​

A 15-year NHL veteran, Markstrom is entering his age 36 season. While his age isn’t in and of itself a disqualifier, I do think its worth considering the history of aging goaltenders and whether or not the Devils should take that risk.

Martin Brodeur missed a large chunk of his age 36 season due to a torn biceps, but played brilliantly when he was healthy, posting .916 save percentages in 2008-09 and 2009-10. In that latter season, he played an astonishing 77 games and finished 3rd in Vezina voting. Brodeur’s performance declined as he got older but he was able to elevate his game at certain points....perhaps none of them bigger than the 2012 postseason where he had a .917 save percentage in the postseason while leading the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final.

There have been other instances of goaltenders playing well into their late 30s. Marc-Andre Fleury won a Vezina with the Golden Knights in his age 36 season, posting a .928 save percentage and 17.9 goals saved above expected. Dominik Hasek won a Vezina at 36 years old and played brilliantly into his 40s. Patrick Roy retired after his age 37 season but was still one of the league’s elite netminders when he hung the pads up. Tim Thomas won a Vezina at 36 years old. Roberto Luongo posted a .922 from his age 36-38 seasons. Sergei Bobrovsky just led the Panthers to a Stanley Cup in his age 36 season.

We’re also in an era where with advances in sports medicine and athlete conditioning that athletes are capable of playing effectively as they enter their golden years. Markstrom’s play has fluctuated from year to year, but there was nothing from his play last season to indicate that he’s due to drop off all of a sudden. Now, just because those guys played well at 36 doesn’t necessarily mean Markstrom will, nor do the advances in sports medicine and the history of players playing well into their golden years. I simply point that out to suggest that there’s no reason to think Markstrom can’t simply because of his age.

The Devils appear to have a succession plan in place in net, as Tom Fitzgerald refused to part with 2024 2nd round pick Mikhail Yegorov during trade talks leading up to the deadline last season. Assuming Yegorov’s development continues the manner that the Devils hope, he has a chance to be the long-term solution in net that the Devils have been searching for. That said, Yegorov isn’t close to being NHL-ready yet. He’s committed to playing another season at Boston University this season. The Devils will want to presumably get him some experience at the professional level at Utica as well whenever he does sign his ELC. They’re probably not just going throw him into the fire of playing an NHL game. So there should be some time before Yegorov arrives.

With backup goaltender Jake Allen signing a five-year extension, one might think the pathway to the NHL would be blocked if they extended Markstrom for as few as two seasons, but I wouldn’t look at it that way. Allen’s no-trade clause becomes a 10-team clause after Year 2 of his deal, and his low AAV makes him a candidate to be traded at some point during the life of that deal. And for now, Nico Daws and Jakub Malek are both still in the organization and ahead of Yegorov on the organizational depth chart. A Markstrom-Allen tandem might be a roadblock for Daws who is probably as close to NHL-ready as he’s ever going to be, but it’s not one for a player like Yegorov who presumably has higher upside and is still several years away.

The Case Against Extending Markstrom​

Admittedly, I am a little concerned with Markstrom’s tendency to let in soft goals.

The best goaltenders in the league are usually somewhere in the .975 to .970 range when it comes to stopping the low danger unblocked attempts. Markstrom has been at .959 and .960 the past two seasons and is saving around -0.012 above expected on those types of shots. That doesn’t sound like a lot in the grand scheme of things, but there were enough of those types of soft goals allowed last year where they do add up over the course of the season. I do give Markstrom credit that the tougher the shot quality against, the better he plays, and the stats back that up. But there are more low-danger chances than any other type over the course of a game and season, and its an area where one would like to see Markstrom be better. I don’t know how much I can count on Markstrom improving in one particular area of his game at his age.

While I literally just said age shouldn’t be a disqualifier, I also can’t ignore that Markstrom will be turning 37 years old in the first year of any potential contract extension. I also can’t ignore that despite the advances in sports medicine that Markstrom missed a large chunk of this past season. Sports medicine doesn’t prevent a guy like Justin Brazeau crashing the net and Markstrom tweaking his knee as a result, but its still something that happened.

It should also be noted that any contract Markstrom signs may fall under the umbrellas of being a 35+ contract. There’s a lot of little nuances when it comes to 35+ contracts and cap hits, but one thing that is pretty consistent with those types of deals is how difficult they can be to get out of down the road.

That doesn’t mean you offer Markstrom something similar to what Jake Allen just signed in an attempt to lower the AAV. Part of the genius behind Allen’s deal is that that is NOT a 35+ contract despite the fact it’ll cover his age 35-39 seasons. Allen was still under the age of 35 when he signed it. I’m just pointing out how the Devils will have more flexibility down the road getting out from Allen’s deal if they feel the need to do so. Depending upon whatever Markstrom’s next deal is, that might not be the case.

I don’t know what the high end goaltending market will look like a year from now, although it’s important to remember the salary cap will take another jump and Thatcher Demko just got $8.5M AAV from the Canucks off of a bad, injury-plagued season. That $8.5M AAV range seems to be that sweet spot for franchise goaltenders now, as Linus Ullmark (4x$8.25M), Jeremy Swayman (8x$8.25M), Juuse Saros (8x$7.74M), and Ilya Sorokin (8x$8.25M) have settled in that range. But all of those goaltenders are all younger and signing for significant term than what Markstrom will presumably command.

AFP Analytics is projecting Markstrom’s next deal to be 2x$5.5M, which would be a slight paycut from his current $6M AAV but a bigger cap hit for the Devils as the Flames are retaining a portion of Markstrom’s salary this year. On the surface, that seems fine, but I’d be wary of going anywhere beyond 2 years, and I’m skeptical of any player who is playing well that they’ll be taking a paycut with the salary cap expected to make another jump. There are also going to be other options on the open market as Sergei Bobrovsky, Filip Gustavsson, Stuart Skinner, and Anthony Stolarz are slated to hit the open market. I’m not saying those options are necessarily better or worse than Markstrom. I’m simply pointing out that other options exist.

I don’t fault players for getting what they can on the open market, but I can say if I were Tom Fitzgerald and I know my salary cap situation is already tight as is, I can’t be spending upwards of $7M to $8M on a starting goaltender entering his age 37 season for however many years it will be. I’m not saying Markstrom should sign for peanuts, but I need a little bit of giveback from the player in this situation, and I don’t know that I just assume Markstrom will give the Devils a break like Allen just did.

Final Thoughts​

Every time I think about this particular topic of extending Markstrom, I keep coming back to the same question.

What’s the rush?

Do the Devils need to extend Markstrom and tie up valuable cap dollars BEFORE seeing what he is in his age 36 season?

The answer to that question is a clear “no”.

That’s not to say they should write off the idea of signing him to a contract extension entirely. And it certainly opens up the Devils to the possibility of paying more after this season if Markstrom posts a .922 and is a legitimate Vezina contender. But I think that needs to be weighed against the potential negatives as well, and nobody is going to want to be on the hook for another year or two of Markstrom if he posts an .890 this upcoming season and struggles.

The aforementioned AFP projection of two-years and $5.5M AAV seems like a reasonable “meet me in the middle” compromise that could keep all parties happy, and if Markstrom’s play drops off drastically in his age 38 season, I think the Devils could manage to get by with some combination of Jake Allen, Jakub Malek, or perhaps a debuting Mikhail Yegorov. I wouldn’t be upset if that is similar to what Markstrom’s next deal actually is. But ultimately, I want to see what Markstrom is this upcoming season before making that call on July 16th. It’s one thing to extend a player in his late 20s and locking in the rest of his prime years. This isn’t that, and there’s little reason to make that commitment now with incomplete information.

The Devils have had a hard enough time finding quality goaltending where I do think they should consider keeping the status quo and extending Markstrom. They just shouldn’t rush to renew their vows before seeing what this year brings.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...the-devils-consider-extending-jacob-markstrom

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Penalty Kill Usage Possibilities for the Devils in 2025-26

Should Nico Hischier get more ice time on the penalty kill than Jack Hughes? | Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

With the Devils taking steps towards rounding out the roster this month, let’s look at some negative trends from the previous season that should be addressed in September.

With the New Jersey Devils roster largely set for the 2025-26 season and everyone putting their best lineup prediction out on the internet, I have been thinking about how Sheldon Keefe can improve usage in his second year with the team. Despite the anxiety felt by Devils fans — that they have not added enough to the roster, and that too many of the players remain the same — there are very few moves left that I think Tom Fitzgerald can make this offseason. For the most part, this is the group that Keefe has to work with in the fall.

Penalty Kill Deployment​

By the numbers, the worst penalty killers on the New Jersey Devils were among the players most utilized by Sheldon Keefe and Ryan McGill. Now that McGill has been replaced by Brad Shaw, most recently of the Philadelphia Flyers, some of these issues may resolve themselves in terms of structure and approach. However, I think it is worth considering that the Devils have not made their best choices in terms of usage when disadvantaged. We have seen the ill effects of the penalty kill at some particularly bad moments, despite overall positive numbers, such as in Game Five against the Carolina Hurricanes. But we have also seen some fantastic stretches where the defense and Markstrom seem impenetrable. So, how can the Devils eliminate those bad moments, solidifying themselves as one of the top penalty kills in the NHL?

The PK Performance Disparity​

Brenden Dillon ranked first on the team in penalty killing time on ice with 215:34 in 2024-25. Johnny Kovacevic followed close behind at 201:55. In total, they played 156 of those minutes together. In those minutes, the Devils scored two shorthanded goals and allowed 24 power play goals against. This was not too far off from their expected numbers, as the team allowed over 54 shots per 60 minutes with those two on the ice on the penalty kill. The 9.23 goals allowed per 60 penalty killing minutes with this duo defending is almost double the rate the Devils gave up with other penalty killing defensemen on the ice.

Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer are a similar story. Mercer led all forwards with 161:37 of penalty killing ice time, with Nico in second at 154:42. Nico had the worst on-ice goals against per 60 penalty killing minutes at 11.64, with Dawson Mercer second worst among all Devils at 8.91. While you might expect these two to chip in some offense on the penalty kill, that also did not happen. As a duo, they underperformed their expected goals on both ends, scoring one shorthanded goal compared to 2.54 expected, while the team allowed 21 goals compared to 19.1 expected goals against.

But Dawson Mercer was on the ice for three goals against on his own (36:57), while Nico Hischier was on the ice for a whopping nine goals in 30 penalty killing minutes played without Mercer, with the Devils scoring one shorthanded goal in that time. Interestingly, Mercer overperformed his 6.12 expected goals against, while Nico’s on ice results were a massively underperformance for the team’s 5.64 expected goals against in his minutes.

So, just how bad is it? Hischier and Mercer account for 191:38 of the Devils’ penalty killing time. During those minutes, the Devils scored two shorthanded goals and allowed 33 power play goals against. The Devils killed 198:52 of penalty time without Hischier or Mercer on the ice. In those minutes, the Devils scored five shorthanded goals and allowed just seven power play goals against.

Who did well for the Devils on the penalty kill, though? Brett Pesce only saw 11 goals against while the team scored four shorthanded in his 157:12 of penalty killing time. He should probably be the number one penalty killing defenseman over Dillon or Kovacevic (even after Kovacevic’s return from injury), despite Kovacevic’s positive results away from Dillon. Him and Jonas Siegenthaler are an excellent defensive duo and should get the majority of minutes in 2025-26. Jesper Bratt also saw four shorthanded goals scored to 10 power play goals against in 125:27 of penalty killing time. The question is: who should Bratt play most with?

Who Plays Center?​

In 17 minutes together, Hischier and Bratt had disastrous results. They allowed six power play goals and scored one shorthanded, giving up over a shot per minute. With any other center, Bratt was on the ice for the Devils giving up just 0.59 shots against per minute on the penalty kill. Nico Hischier is a first-line center. That is not in doubt. But what makes him such a good player is how he wins matchups at five-on-five and how effective he is on the power play (and, increasingly, how high-percentage his shot is). Penalty killing defense is a different beast, and Hischier has not figured that one out yet. See HockeyViz’s visualization of Hischier’s man-disadvantage effect below. In those minutes, the Devils give up a ton more shots at the point and right in front of the net, while the left wing one-timer is wide-open, just above the dot. That’s a recipe for penalty killing disasters.

HockeyViz

And see how that plays out in real terms, with Hischier struggling to shut down the middle of the ice on the penalty kill:

Many of the minutes Bratt played on the kill were with Erik Haula. Haula was incredible in his penalty killing minutes, with the team averaging under 2.5 goals against per 60 minutes regardless of who was on his wing. Had Tom Fitzgerald traded someone else to create cap room, that would have been a perfect top penalty killing unit. But the Devils will have to look elsewhere. The next-best option is, unintuitively for many people, Jack Hughes. In all of his 51:25 of penalty killing ice time, the Devils outscored opponents 2-1. Is that sustainable? Almost certainly not to that extent, but Hughes had a whopping 30.03 xGF%, showing that he might actually be severely underplayed on the penalty kill.

Increasing Depth Utilization on the Penalty Kill​

Otherwise, the Devils would have to hope that Cody Glass can become a full-time penalty killer. In his career, Glass has only played 98:34 of total time on the kill, with his team allowing seven goals on 12.92 expected goals against. That comes out to about 7.86 expected goals against and 4.26 actual goals against per 60 minutes of penalty killing time in his career, albeit in a tiny relative sample. If those rates held up over a full season, Cody Glass would be the third-best penalty killing forward on the Devils, compared to those with over 50 such minutes played in the 2024-25 season (Hughes, Haula, Bratt, Mercer, Hischier).

Connor Brown’s arrival will be a huge aid. Brown’s career low usage on the penalty kill was 124:52 in the 2023-24 season, and he has mostly had good results, with just 2019-20 and 2024-25 sticking out with higher goal against numbers. His expected numbers have always been solid. While Brown has not been able to achieve the same level of shorthanded threat, post-recovery, that he brought to the table in Ottawa, he should still be able to take a lot of the minutes that the team would have used Haula for last season. If you are hoping that Juho Lammikko can also be an option, though, you might want to hope that he learned a few tricks back in Europe. He was very bad for Florida and Vancouver in considerable minutes.

HockeyViz
Connor Brown: very good on the penalty kill.

Another option for improving forward usage is utilizing other players who played a small, but notable amount of time on the penalty kill. Two such forwards remain in the 25-50 minute usage category: Stefan Noesen and Ondrej Palat. In Palat’s 28:25 of penalty killing ice time, the Devils scored twice and allowed zero goals. In Noesen’s 38:37 of penalty killing ice time, the Devils allowed zero goals. Given the consternation about Palat’s value to the team, one apparent way to revitalize him would be to use him in these situations more often. In his earlier days, Palat spent a lot of time on Tampa Bay’s penalty kill, logging over 100 minutes three times. In his career, Palat has been on the ice for 18 shorthanded goals and 75 power play goals against in 761:48 of total penalty killing ice time. That comes out to 1.42 shorthanded goals for and 5.9 power play goals against per 60 minutes of ice time Palat has played on the kill in his career. He might be fading at five-on-five, but players often retain their special teams ability as they age. On the other hand, Noesen is effective in all situations, but can probably pick up more penalty killing minutes if he finds himself off the first power play in 2025-26.

What is the importance here? If the Devils’ top penalty killers remain Hischier, Bratt, and Mercer, and two of those players remain ineffective penalty killers, the Devils are wasting their minutes. Over the course of a game or season, how much more fatigued is Nico Hischier because he takes top penalty killing matchups? Taking him out of that role might hurt his chances of winning a Selke award, but there are either two roads there. Either Nico improves as a penalty killer and actually puts himself into that conversation, or the team pulls back on those minutes to put him in more offensive situations, where he thrives most. Hockey media talks all the time about how important good fourth lines are to take the burden off top players, giving them time to rest. The Devils can get somewhere in that regard by relying more on their supporting cast to kill penalties.

Unlikely Blueliners​

While I have advocated for Siegenthaler and Pesce taking the top unit matchups away from Dillon and Kovacevic, even after the latter’s return from injury, I think the defensive use share can be shaken up even more. Devils fans might not think of Dougie Hamilton, Simon Nemec, or Luke Hughes as penalty killing options, but at least one of them will have to play large minutes in the absence of Kovacevic. My take, though, is that all three should.

Let’s start with Dougie. You might be surprised to find out that the coach who believed in Hamilton most as a penalty killer was Rod Brind’Amour, who played him for over 100 minutes in 2019-20, and was on track to do so again had the 2020-21 season not been shortened. In Carolina, Dougie was on the ice for seven shorthanded goals and 25 power play goals against in 209:05 of penalty killing ice time, and topped out at a sky-high 37.73 xGF% in 2019-20, when he had his most usage. That was 2.01 goals for and 7.17 goals against per 60 minutes of kill. In a mere 20 minutes this year, Dougie had a 31.43 xGF% on the penalty kill. Why can Hamilton work there? The one and only true concern about Dougie Hamilton’s defense is his speed, which NHL EDGE’s tracking data seems to disagree with, anyway. But even if you do not believe that data, penalty killers do not defend a constant rush. They have to defend at a near-standstill, and not many players have a better reach than 6’7” Dougie Hamilton.

This is the same reason I believe Brenden Dillon is not suited to be a top penalty killer. Dillon has had negative relative impacts on the penalty kill for three consecutive seasons, and I think it has to do with his style of defense. His best plays are at five-on-five, when he has the freedom to step up and blow up forwards on the rush. On the penalty kill, he often ends up trying to defend plays by the net by dropping to one knee and blocking the ice with his stick, but he does not take net-area space away in an effective manner. As a result, shots against explode in frequency right in front of Markstrom and Allen when Dillon is killing penalties. This is supported by HockeyViz’s shot tracking data, which has regarded Dillon as a negative penalty killer across his entire career, save the 2020-21 season.

Enter Luke Hughes. Hughes is still learning how to defend at even strength, but the limited returns on his penalty killing have been positive. In just over 27 minutes on the penalty kill this season, Hughes saw an increased number of slot shots, but a strong reduction of left-side crease-area shots. In the shot rate map from HockeyViz below, you can see that the increase in shots against when Luke Hughes is on the ice comes from sharp-angle chances below the right-wing faceoff dot in addition to above the right-wing faceoff circle, near the point. Otherwise, it seems that Hughes’s defensive partners on the penalty kill were the ones allowing the majority of dangerous net-area chances.

HockeyViz

I can hear the sample size complaints already, but these are just the early returns for a player who has not been utilized in this role much in his young career. It does seem that Luke worked very well with Brett Pesce on the kill, but he struggled mightily in a 6:54 lefty-lefty sample with Brian Dumoulin, who is no longer on the team. Those minutes with Dumoulin account for two of the three power play goals against with Luke on the ice. I believe the third such power play goal against was actually in a five-on-five empty net situation, with Luke as the only defenseman on the ice, as there was no other registered penalty killing defensive pair featuring him that gave up a goal.

Simon Nemec has played more on the penalty kill in his career, logging 69:22 over the last two seasons in that role. With only five power play goals allowed in that time, Nemec should be played more on the penalty kill to see if this can become an aspect of his game. However, Nemec has struggled with defending the net, and Brad Shaw will have to work with him in that area of the game.

Last Year’s Units vs. My Proposed 2025-26 Units​

In the 2024-25 season, these were some of the most common penalty killing groups:

• Hischier-Mercer-Dillon-Kovacevic: 77:45 TOI, 1 GF-15 GA — 11.58 GA/60, 10.32 xGA/60
• (Center)-Bratt-Siegenthaler-Pesce: 33:43 TOI, 0 GF-3 GA — 1.39 xGF/60, 5.34 GA/60, 6.08 xGA/60
• Hischier-Mercer-(Defense)-Pesce: 31:34 TOI, 0 GF-6 GA — 11.4 GA/60, 9.98 xGA/60
• (Center)-Bratt-Dillon-Pesce: 16:06 TOI, 3 GF-0 GA — 2.09 xGF/60, 8.72 xGA/60

The real key to last season’s penalty killing success seems to revolve strongly around Brett Pesce, who elevated pretty much everyone who was on the ice with him. Only Nico Hischier did not work well with him, but I do not think this is a chemistry thing. Rather, it may simple be misuse to have Hischier on the penalty kill, beyond taking faceoffs. This is how I would try to line everyone up in the 2025-26 season:

1. Glass-Brown-Siegenthaler-Pesce
2. Hughes-Bratt-Hughes-Hamilton
3. Hischier*-Palat-Dillon-Nemec
4. Mercer-Noesen

Perhaps some of Hischier’s previous season is bad luck. How many times did he win a big faceoff draw, only for Dawson Mercer to fail at lifting the puck out of the defensive zone? This could factor into how Hischier is used this season. He is very effective in the dot, so the team could use him for defensive zone draws in place of Jack Hughes. Then, the moment the Devils get the puck out of the defensive zone, Hischier should get off the ice. I did not specifically keep track of this in 2024-25, but I felt like Hischier stayed on for extra-long shifts far too often on the penalty kill, which may have contributed to his poor results. This was also true of Dillon and Kovacevic, even if the Devils successfully cleared the puck down the ice. Hischier is exceptional at remaining a top offensive threat even 45-60 seconds deep into a shift (yes, there is data on this), but this only does so much good in a situation that is focused on defensive zone play.

You might be concerned about that second defensive pair. However, I do not think it would be a good idea to pair Hughes with Nemec. The weak points in their shot effects overlap (i.e. a heavy increase in shots below the left-wing faceoff dot), and they are both still very young. I also do not think Dillon has shown that he should be a top penalty killer and would be better off focusing on making an impact at five-on-five. Comparatively, Hughes and Hamilton have different weaknesses. Hughes may be the fastest defenseman in the NHL and has a great defensive stick, but he can drift a bit and can toughen up around the net. By comparison, Hamilton is giant and effectively takes away a lot of space as a result. And if he is on the penalty kill, I doubt even NHLers would be brave enough to step in front of his clearing attempts.

The biggest thing is, in my opinion, keeping clear top six guys out of the top penalty killing role. Cody Glass has excellent five-on-five defensive metrics and did well in career-high penalty killing minutes in 2024-25. Connor Brown is a lifelong penalty killer, and he can take a lot of tough minutes away from more productive players by continuing that role with the Devils. Ultimately, the penalty kill is a situation where teams expect to take some goals against. It is not only best to limit those goals against, but also to make sure that top scorers are not tiring themselves out in minutes where they are least likely to light the lamp.

Think in terms of momentum. Say Nico Hischier has been on the ice for a penalty kill shift, winning a draw, the clearance of which is botched by one of the other three players on the ice. The Devils are hemmed in, giving up shot after shot. They survive at first, but Hischier stays on the ice, with Bratt coming on for Dawson Mercer as the second penalty killing unit, only for the opponent to score a goal with under 30 seconds left to kill. For reference, Hischier and Bratt saw six goals against in just 17 penalty killing minutes played together. After that happens, who can the Devils send out? With Hischier out of gas, and Bratt coming off a penalty kill goal against, maybe the team turns to the third or fourth line. Last season, the bottom six would probably fail spectacularly at trying to shift momentum after that goal against, spiraling the Devils into several minutes of uncompetitive hockey.

The goal is to be competitive by maximizing the skills that players are best at. If Hischier exchanges two or three penalty killing shifts per game for even strength time, you might see his scoring tick up towards 80 or 90 points. He might even be that momentum stopper after the Devils do give up power play goals. Conversely, Cody Glass would best earn his money by allowing Hischier to take those shifts off. Getting scorers like Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt on for those secondary killing shifts should give them plenty of time to hunt for shorthanded scoring chances, as Jack grows more into an all-situations player.

In the absence of Kovacevic, finding extra minutes might be tough, but Dougie Hamilton has had success in that role before. I also think that, with the right coaching, Luke Hughes can use his quickness and reach to become an effective penalty killer, while Nemec fixing his netfront defense would turn him into a bona-fide first or second pairing right-handed defenseman. Before all that happens though, I am just very thankful for Brett Pesce.

Your Thoughts​

What do you think of the Devils’ penalty kill? Do you think Brad Shaw will be able to bring them to new heights? What do you think about the deployment suggestions I made? Do you agree with the pitfalls and strengths I highlighted? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.

Many thanks to HockeyViz for their shot map visualizations, to Natural Stat Trick for their data tools, and to the Devils’ media team for posting so many goal videos on YouTube in the 2024-25 season.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...chier-jack-hughes-cody-glass-dillon-kovacevic

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Next Summer Will Be Easier for the New Jersey Devils to Offload Ondrej Palat and/or Dougie Hamilton

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

With the current state of both players’ contracts, the New Jersey Devils may have to wait a year to move either or both Hamilton and Palat.

The New Jersey Devils have seemingly made all of the adjustments for their roster that they're going to make before 2025-26 begins. Aside from the Luke Hughes still needing a new contact, this summer was mainly players being re-signed and some depth additions being made. Many fans, and even some pundits also expected the team to attempt to move on from Ondrej Palat and/or Dougie Hamilton as another way of further reshaping the team. For all we know, General Manager Tom Fitzgerald may have made calls to try and make this happen. Neither has been moved though, at least not as of when this article is being written.

Now for those who are waiting for the deal to be announced any day, I have some bad news for you. I don't think you're going to see it happen this summer. Yes, the Devils may need to clear some space to give Luke the amount of money that makes both team and player (and his brother) happy. With LTIR space from Johnny Kovacevic's injury, they can both find that amount and buy some time in terms of cap compliance when the whole team is healthy. The cap space not necessarily being needed is just one reason I think we have to wait one more season before at least one of them isn't a Devil.

In regards to Hamilton, he's needed right now. With no Kovacevic on the right for a few months, I don't think the team wants to start the season with Brett Pesce, Simon Nemec and Seamus Casey on the right side. There's just too much inexperience there for a team wanting to go deep into the postseason. Hamilton has his flaws but he's not the atrocity some fans make him out to be. I get that he's overpaid, but right now that doesn't seem to be a big issue and again his play tends to be a net positive. Now if his play completely falls off a cliff this season, then in hindsight we can say not moving him was a mistake.

As for Palat, I honestly think there's not a lot of interest for him around the league. The guy makes $6 million for each of the next two seasons, which with the rising cap isn't a huge amount. The obvious issue is his on ice play has declined to the point where he's only worth maybe half of that cap hit, if not less. He's had the benefit of playing with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt and still finished last season with an uninspiring point total. Devils fans don't want to see him paired with top top anymore, so I imagine most other NHL teams probably feel the same way. Palat's contact was always seen as a bad contract, and at this point unfortunately he's basically a cap dump.

Next summer Dougie should still have some value. The cap is set to rise again and as long as he stays relatively healthy and produces some points, there should be interest if the Devils decide they need to reallocate his cap space. Right handed defenders who can put up points are valuable in the NHL, even if they are overpaid a bit. With two seasons remaining in a rising cap world, Hamilton could be used as a trade chip to bolster other roster areas.

As for Palat, next summer moved him to just having one season left on his current contract. By that point, the Devils could try to move him as a pure cap dump. There is no scenario where I see him rebuilding his value into the positive this year. If the team can't move him, a contact buyout becomes logical. According to PuckPedia's buyout calculator, the savings next season would be better than if they traded Palat and retained 50%, and the following season would be a paltry $1.65 million against the cap. Due to the forthcoming Luke contract, money is tight and it would be hard for the Devils to both buyout Palat and sign a replacement this summer. The numbers are much easier to work with if they wait one more season. Not ideal, but if they push him down the lineup this season, it's bearable.

The Devils are still searching for the right combination of players to push them over the top. Even with a rising cap, they still could use to move on from at least one of Palat and Hamilton both for cap and roster construction reasons. While many want this to happen now, mathematically it makes more sense next summer in terms of making their deals easier to move.

What are your thoughts on the Devils trying to move Palat and/or Hamilton? Is there one you would prefer to see sent elsewhere over the other? Do you think the Devils would be better if both were moved? Are you worried about the gaps in the lineup they would leave or a potential underwhelming return for them? Would you prefer management to just buy Palat's contract out next summer? Leave any and all comments below and thanks as always for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...o-offload-ondrej-palat-and-or-dougie-hamilton

 

[New Jersey Devils]

DitD & Open Post - 7/18/25: The Schedule is Here Edition

New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes (86) warms up before a NHL game between the Dallas Stars and New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on February 22, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. | Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

New Jersey Devils & Related Hockey Links for 7/18/25

Here are your links for today:

Devils Links​

The 2025-2026 schedule is here:

Now you're all in big, big trouble. pic.twitter.com/QPmuNUiDqH

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) July 16, 2025​

Dodge. Duck. Dip. Dive. DROPPING THE FULL SCHEDULE.

: https://t.co/2ZeC2AZU94 pic.twitter.com/vYbvUnKZSv

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) July 16, 2025​

Some analysis of the schedule: [Infernal Access ($)]

Could the Devils solve the third-line center problem internally if necessary? [Devils on the Rush ($)]

“The Devils are lucky to have a player of Jesper Bratt’s quality and playstyle within their lineup. His skating and passing abilities make him an unstoppable playmaking force regardless of game context (playoffs or otherwise). Pair this with his generally clinical finishing abilities, evolution of physicality to win board battles, relatively young age, and incredibly team-friendly contract ($7.875 million until 2031), and there is no doubt in my mind that he will be a driving factor in why the Devils will be a successful playoff team for years to come.” [Devils’ Advocates]

Hockey Links​

Some highlights from the 2025-2026 regular season schedule: [NHL.com] [The Athletic ($)]

A trade:

TRADE: We’ve acquired forward Dakota Joshua from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a fourth round selection in the 2028 NHL Draft pic.twitter.com/HutDzsKmuh

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 17, 2025​

“He’s hope. He’s the future. But presently, Gavin McKenna represents something else entirely in hockey: He embodies the dramatic changes between the NCAA, Canadian Hockey League and the NHL that have altered the path for NHL prospects.” [ESPN]

Imagine Connor McDavid showing up at your rec league game:

Connor McDavid takes the ice at a beer league game in Newmarket, ON tonight pic.twitter.com/zyrG3hD2s2

— BarDown (@BarDown) July 17, 2025​

Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...-details-7-18-25-the-schedule-is-here-edition

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Breaking Down the 2025-26 New Jersey Devils Schedule: Positives and Issues With the NHL’s Work

The Devils will only play the Rangers three times, but they will all be in Meier March. | Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Devils do not have the worst schedule, but it does not seem very optimized for the team, its fans, or opponent fans.

On Wednesday afternoon, the New Jersey Devils announced their schedule for the 2025-26 NHL season. Today, I am going over the schedule and sharing what I see as some positives and negatives about the job the NHL did here.

Positive: The Devils Start on the Road​

The New Jersey Devils have the latest home opener in the league. The first games of the season are on October 7. Six teams play that night. But the Devils do not start on October 8, either: their first game of the season is on October 9 against Carolina. 20 of the 32 teams will have had their home opener by that night, but the Devils will stay on the road. These are the teams to have a home opener later than October 9:

• October 11: Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild, New York Islanders
• October 13: Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers
• October 14: Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens
• October 15: Utah Mammoth
• October 16: New Jersey Devils

Personally, I would rather the team have some extra home games down the stretch than deal with a bunch of road trips in March and April, so I like seeing that the team is going to be late to get into the Rock. This way, they can also take a win or two back home, rather than worry about wasting a home stand to start the season.

Positive: The Devils Have Early Challenges​

Six of the first seven games the Devils play are against playoff teams. The non-playoff team, Columbus, was on the bubble in the 2024-25 season. The Devils only play two games in October against a team that was not close to the playoffs last season when they play San Jose at home on Friday, October 24, before facing them on their first western road trip, which starts with a home-and-home with Colorado.

I do not see an “easy” stretch until the end of November and December, at which point the quality of competition seems to take a step back. In December, only six of the 15 games are against 2024-25 playoff teams. Before that, 14 of the 25 games they play are against recent playoff teams. However, if you exclude the last five games of November, 13 of the first 20 games the Devils play are expected to be tougher matchups. Of course, teams like Detroit (11/24), Columbus (10/13), or Pittsburgh (11/8) can probably contend in the Wild Card bubble, but they all missed last season.

Positive: The Devils Have No 10:30 ET Starts​

People who have to wake up early in the morning for work, rejoice. With the league pushing teams to schedule more games in the 7:00 PM slot, the Devils will have no games starting at 10:30 PM Eastern Time when the team is on the west coast. While that half-hour might not seem like much, it is the difference between a game finishing by 12:30 and a game finishing after 1:00 AM. Now, I would love if the league pushed for even earlier local weekday starts than 7:00, such as 6:30 or 6:45 (which would mean we would actually have puck drop by 7:00), but I will take this for the time being. However, they still have not perfected the Frozen Frenzy:

Frozen Frenzy looks set to return on Tuesday, October 28, with all 32 teams in action with fully staggered start times (ET). pic.twitter.com/FbEeKRvL9v

— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) July 16, 2025​

In this spread, the NHL skipped over 6:15, 9:15, and 9:45 Eastern Time. I have no clue why these games couldn’t have been scheduled to fill the former two times, with the Kings and Sharks able to start their game at 7:00 local time or 10:00 Eastern, if they really have a problem with a potential 6:45 start time. That would have slid the Devils up to 8:45, and it would have prevented Montreal Fans from having to wait until 10:30 for their game to start. Some fans and writers have also pointed out that doing this on a Tuesday is a little odd, and would be great for a Saturday with matinees starting at 12:30 Eastern.

Negative: 15 Back-to-Backs and an Imbalanced Rest Schedule​

Per HockeyViz, the Devils have one of the most imbalanced schedules in the NHL in terms of rest, with four more instances of playing rested teams while tired than the other way around. Only Seattle, Colorado, Carolina (-5), and San Jose (-6) have similarly or more imbalanced schedules.

Tired/Rested games for the NHL 2025-2026 season.

— Micah McCurdy (@hockeyviz.com) 2025-07-16T17:30:18.019Z

In addition to the imbalanced rest schedule, the Devils also have 15 back-to-backs on their schedule. To be honest, the back-to-backs only bother me when rest imbalance coincides with them, so I am not too concerned about the overall number of them. You can see how the Devils compare to other teams in terms of back-to-back sets below:

On average, NHL teams are getting one more back-to-back this season compared to last season. (2024-25 teams had an average of 12.4 back-to-back games) pic.twitter.com/9WuknZKOqI

— NHLtoSeattle (@NHLtoSeattle) July 16, 2025​

What I do not get here is how the league can have teams like the Sharks, Devils, and Hurricanes playing more back-to-backs than average while highly rest-advantaged teams like the Bruins, Rangers, Penguins, and Ducks play fewer. At least Seattle and Colorado did not get doubly-screwed by the league with rest and back-to-backs, but this has been an issue they have been in need of fixing for many years now.

Counter-Positive: The Devils Barely Go West After the Olympic Break​

After the Devils return to play on February 25, they only play Western Conference teams on the road five times:

• 2/28 — @St. Louis
• 3/24 — @Dallas
• 3/26 — @Nashville

Even with those games against the Western Conference, the Devils do not have to travel to Canada or to the west coast at all beyond the January 25 matchup against Seattle. Maybe this helps the team develop a rhythm just in time for the playoffs, as their travel schedule becomes a lot easier after their top players return from the Olympics.

Negative: The Devils Play the Rangers and Flyers Only Three Times Each​

Who approved this one? For a league that is trying to push rivalries, rivalries, and rivalries as much as the NHL has, it is flabbergasting to have only three matchups between the Rangers and Devils. Those games are also all in March: on 3/7, 3/18, and 3/31. The Devils only have one home game against them, on 3/7. If I had bought season tickets this year (I decided to wait until next year), I would be pretty annoyed. But I am concerned about these games being so late. They might be fun if both teams are in a playoff spot at the end of the season, but they will be boring if one team is well out of it. Last season, the Rangers fell apart by the New Year and did not recover, while the Devils missed just two seasons ago. Given their collective age and dubious offensive ability beyond Panarin, I would not be surprised if the Rangers went down a similar road this season.

The Devils also only play the Philadelphia Flyers three times. I would be more enraged if Philadelphia was a decent team, but these games are largely hack-shows in which the Devils completely outclass them in the game of hockey while trying to avoid season or career-altering injuries. The Devils play them on 11/22, 11/29, and 4/7, with only the first of those three being on the road.

Negative: The Matinee Schedule​

While the league learned that Western Conference teams should not be scheduling games at 7:30 PM local time when they have Eastern Conference visitors, they have not learned that 12:30 PM matinees on the east coast are not ideal for west coast teams. The Devils have the following afternoon games this season:

• 10/18: Edmonton — 3:30 Eastern
• 10/25: Colorado — 1:00 PM Eastern
• 11/8: Pittsburgh — 12:30 Eastern
• 12/13: Anaheim — 12:30 Eastern
• 12/14: Vancouver — 12:30 Eastern
• 1/3: Utah — 3:00 Eastern
• 1/11: @Winnipeg — 2:00 Eastern
• 1/25: @Seattle — 4:00 Eastern
• 3/7: NY Rangers — 3:00 Eastern
• 3/28: @Carolina — 5:00 Eastern
• 4/11: @Detroit — 5:00 Eastern

If you like on the west coast and you are not a morning person, the games highlighted in December might be particularly annoying for you. And here is a terrible approach in marketing for the NHL: why is the Hughes Bowl a Sunday matinee with a mismatched time zone? On the other end of the spectrum, the hopeful round two is on a January Thursday in Vancouver with a 7:00 PM local start, meaning that a large chunk of both interested viewing parties will be well out of normal sports-viewing time at the times both games air. I do not understand it. With how wide-open the Hughes discussions are at this point, the league has to realize that they will not have many more opportunities to market the brothers playing against each other, one way or another. One or both of those games should be in primetime.

And as a Devils fan that really likes an afternoon game, I hate the way this overall matinee schedule goes. Was 1:00 on Sunday, the same time as Giants-Eagles AND Jets-Bengals, the best time to schedule a home matinee for the Devils? Likewise, the Hughes Bowl is the same time as Jets-Jaguars and Giants-Commander games. So, the only Sunday matinee games the Devils have scheduled during football season happen to occur during both local teams’ matchups. Great job, NHL. It’s not like the NFL schedule hasn’t been out for awhile now.

And then beyond that, the Devils barely play any such games after the New Year, with no 1:00 games and only two matinees at home. One of those is well-designed, with the league giving the Devils a few extra hours of rest for their back-to-back in early March against the Rangers and Red Wings, but I otherwise don’t see why the Devils couldn’t have gotten a few more games at least in the 4:00 time slot, especially in the early spring when they do not have a ton of rivalry games and a ton of back-to-backs. As far as I can see, the Carolina and Detroit games could be earlier, with the Devils going home for 7:00 games the following nights. The 4/4 game against Montreal should also probably be between 1:00 and 4:00, with the teams going back to Montreal afterwards for a back-to-back home-and-home.

How the Devils Can Plan Ahead for the Challenges of the Schedule​

Beyond my take on specific aspects of the schedule, I think the Olympic squeeze gives Tom Fitzgerald a very good reason not to trade Dougie Hamilton. Hamilton will be essential to the gauntlet run in the first month and a half of the season, and the low-rest realities of a schedule with an extended Olympic break means some Devils would benefit from a rotation down the stretch. If all seven of the Devils’ NHL defensemen stay healthy after Kovacevic’s return (not necessarily super-likely, anyway), there are six back-to-backs out of 25 total games following the Olympic break. Being able to rotate defensemen in and out of the lineup at that point, while not necessarily a luxury for the forwards (unless some young players push their way to the NHL), would be good for everyone on the blueline. It would also give Sheldon Keefe an opportunity to see what targeted matchups and approaches work against other teams’ styles ahead of the playoffs.

The early portion of the schedule makes it absolutely essential that Keefe also figure out who deserves to be in the top six pretty early on. We should not want to wait until December to find out that Arseni Gritsyuk or Evgeni Dadonov should be in the top six over Ondrej Palat, or to find out that Cody Glass can handle third-line duties and that Mercer can move up to top six wing. Now, if none of those players are able to push up the lineup for real performative reasons, that would be unfortunate, but the Devils kind of need those things to happen this season. If they want to compete for the Eastern Conference, they need those things to happen successfully.

But the Devils will need to have contingency plans this season. It is an Olympic year, and they have a lot of people that should be on Teams Switzerland and Sweden. They should also have Jack Hughes on Team USA, and possibly Dougie Hamilton in consideration for Team Canada if he has an excellent first few months. I would also be pleasantly surprised, but not too shocked if Brett Pesce or Luke Hughes were considered for Team USA on defense. And if Jake Allen ends up playing a lot of games early in the season, he could even be in consideration for Team Canada as a backup instead of Markstrom for Sweden. As much of an issue as some people make about the team’s conditioning, they will be tested this season. There is a chance some players will be able to play as many as 89 games this season between regular season matchups and Olympic games if they do not take any nights off.

Your Thoughts​

What do you think about the schedule? Do you think the NHL did a fair job? Do you think anything about the schedule could have been improved? What do you think about my takes on the schedule? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...sitives-issues-with-nhls-work-olympics-hockey

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Devils Fans Summer Check-In: Halfway There

Soon, Devils fans will be seeing Nico Hischier and company again. | Photo by Rich Graessle/NHLI via Getty Images

We are about at the midway point between when the Devils were eliminated and when they play regular season hockey again.

It has been 81 days since we last saw the New Jersey Devils play hockey. Earlier this week, the NHL had teams put their schedules out onto the internet, and I talked about my pros and cons for the Devils’ schedule yesterday. It is good timing: tonight marks the rough halfway point between the end of the Devils’ 2024-25 season and their 2025-26 season. With 82 days until the puck drops in Carolina for the Devils’ return to playing games that matter, I figured this would be a good time for an off-beat post.

I am thankful because New Jersey does not currently find itself in a high-humidity heat wave. With only low-mid 80s temperatures and lots of sun around the state today, it’s as good a weekend as any to get outside and enjoy yourself. Last week, I went kayaking just outside of one of New Jersey’s state parks, and I should probably find something to do today. Maybe I will go for a walk.

Maybe some of you find yourselves going to the beach this weekend, or maybe it’s a good day to have friends over for grilling and sitting outside. Whatever it is, I encourage you all to do it on one of the most perfect weather days of the summer.

I will be coming back here tomorrow with a regular article in the morning, unless something I’m not expecting happens today, like a Luke Hughes extension.. For those of you who applied to my writer posting, thank you. I have received some good submissions, but due to some unexpected events earlier this week, I have not been as quick as I wanted to be with wrapping that up. So, I am still sending emails out. If you have not heard back from me, don’t worry. I will get back to responding to applications this afternoon and this evening, if I cannot get a couple emails off in the morning.

But, seriously, enjoy yourselves today. Go for a hike, go to the beach, go on the lake, go hang out with your friends in the backyard: just do not sit inside all day. Get some sunscreen and drink a bottle of water and get after it. We only have half of the offseason left to mentally prepare for Devils hockey. And if you want to share a bit about your summer activities, please leave your comments below, and thanks for reading.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...n-halfway-to-october-regular-season-games-nhl