After an early playoff exit this season, the New Jersey Devils have made some key changes to the roster and it could make a big difference in the hunt for a deep run next postseason.
One of the biggest issues the team faced was a lack of secondary scoring, which became a major problem when star forward Jack Hughes suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in February. In his absence, the heavily front-loaded roster carried the team, but the bottom six continued to struggle with producing offense.
That was clearly GM Tom Fitzgerald's main goal this offseason: increasing depth scoring. With some minor tweaks to the lower parts of the forward roster, the Devils could be sitting in a favorable position entering the 2025-26 season.
Devils make crucial offensive upgrades
New Jersey has faced a couple of losses this summer including Tomas Tatar, who is leaving the NHL to play in Switzerland, and Erik Haula, who was traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for defensive prospect Jeremy Hanzel.
Both Tatar and Haula served as middle- to bottom-six forwards at various times throughout the season. Coach Sheldon Keefe gave Haula in particular several chances to prove himself on the top two lines, but neither of those skaters pulled their weight, tallying a combined 38 points between them -- that's right around what was expected out of each of them individually.
Fitzgerald found some viable replacements for Tatar and Haula by dipping into the free agent market. Connor Brown was signed to a four-year, $3 million AAV contract after having a rebound season as a member of the Edmonton Oilers' bottom six. The 31-year-old recorded 30 points in 82 games, and over his entire career, he has scored at an average pace of 15 goals and 35 points per season.
Evgenii Dadonov was also brought in on a one-year, $1 million contract which is a very team-friendly price tag for what he is capable of contributing. At age 36, Dadonov produced 20 goals and 40 points in 80 games for the Dallas Stars this season. Both Dadonov and Brown have the ability to score on a fairly consistent basis even in a reduced role, but Dadonov also has the chops to play higher in the lineup when needed.
Center Cody Glass will be staying in New Jersey for now too on a two-year, $2.5 million AAV contract. That's perhaps a bit on the higher end, but Glass impressed after being acquired at the trade dealine with six points in his first seven games as a Devil. Across parts of six seasons, the 26-year-old has scored at an average rate of 30 points per 82 games.
All of these things bode well for New Jersey's offense, which fell off quite significantly after the top four scorers: Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, and Timo Meier. Retaining three players that are all capable of scoring 30 or more points might be the offensive boost needed to lift the Devils up from their 20th place finish in goals per game.
What's left to be done?
The last thing on the agenda is to re-sign Luke Hughes to a contract extension. If it ends up being a long-term deal as expected, the 21-year-old defenseman could garner between $7.5 million and $9 million annually. A shorter-term bridge deal might see him draw $5 million per year for the next three or four seasons.
However it plays out, that highly impacts what Fitzgerald might do the rest of the summer. There may be more moves to come depending on the type of contract Luke signs and how much cap space remains, which right now is $6.9 million.
"My number one priority is Luke Hughes and what I do with Luke Hughes will determine what else I possibly could do."Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald
The good news is the Devils don't need to scramble to find another goalie as many were expecting them to. The re-signing of Jake Allen was an unexpected, but welcome surprise and takes a lot of weight off the Devils' shoulders to find a new backup for Jacob Markstrom.
Allen was arguably the best backup goalie in the league, ranking third in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes of play. The only netminders with better numbers in that category were Toronto's starter Anthony Stolarz and Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck.
With improvements being made to depth scoring, two reliable goaltenders, and the team's best young defenseman locked up (hopefully sooner rather than later), New Jersey is primed to be in the mix for a deep playoff run.