After last night’s loss to the Detroit Red Wings snapped New Jersey’s four-game winning streak, the season isn’t OVER, but it’s over. The Devils technically have some wiggle room to make the playoffs, but it would take a borderline undefeated run coupled with an epic collapse or two by Eastern Conference teams to get them into the dance. Needless to say, this has been a monumentally disappointing season that will end upon the final horn of game 82.
But while all that might seem very negative (and
it is), I really still do hold out hope for the future of this team. There needs to be some significant change up and down the organizational chain, but I believe in this core, as well as some of the supporting cast. As such, today I want to take a look at each player on the roster and go through what I want to see from them the rest of the way. I figure it would be constructive to analyze some ways that each player can give us optimism heading into next season, and perhaps many more seasons to come. Not all of these will be directly on-ice performance, as you’ll see down below.
Let’s begin.
The Players I Won’t Even Bother With
Ok, one more bit of pessimism. There are of course some players on the roster that I really have no faith in to be contributors moving forward. Those players would include Paul Cotter, Evgenii Dadonov, Maxim Tsyplakov, and Stefan Noesen. I think Cotter, Dadonov, and Tsyplakov are obvious, considering two of the three of them were recently put on waivers. The inclusion of Noesen might seem harsh. He’s found ways to contribute during his time in New Jersey, but I see him as worth more to the Devils as an option to jettison for more cap space than for his on-ice contributions. Noesen holds a very workable no-trade clause (10-team no-trade list this year, 7-team no-trade list once the new league year begins), which should make it relatively easy to find a trade partner. I would hope all these players are gone by the time the next season begins.
Jack Hughes: Stay Healthy
Pretty tongue in cheek, I know, but Hughes has not been able to finish a season healthy since 2022-23. Heck, even in that season he played through a significant injury during the second round of the playoffs, with rumors that even if the Devils advanced past that point, he wouldn’t be able to play in the Conference Final. He’s already dealt with even more injuries this season, but if he can actually enter an offseason without needing surgery of some kind, then first of all I’m sure that would be a big mental/emotional boost for him, and second of all he can then focus on getting stronger and working on whatever areas of his game he feels he needs to work on.
Nico Hischier: Clarity on his long-term future
I told you not all of these will be directly related to on-ice performance. The captain will be entering the final season of his contract this summer. He is an invaluable member of this team, and the Devils need to find a way to get his name on a long-term extension in a hurry. They won’t actually be able to do that until the new league year begins though, so I guess what I want to see the rest of the season are credible reports that extension talks are going well.
Jesper Bratt: Shoot first, ask questions later
We all know Bratt is much more of a passer than a shooter, but he’s really taken it to another level in recent times. Believe it or not, he’s actually on pace to eclipse his shots on goal total from last season (180), but not by much. And it really does feel like he’s deferred open shots more than he ever has this season. Down the stretch, I would love to see Bratt just adopt a mindset of shooting at every opportunity. He will always be a pass-first player, which is fine, but getting him more balanced heading into next season would help a lot.
Timo Meier: Rejuvenated transition game
Aside from the obvious of wanting to see more goals from Meier, I would love to see him get back to being a monster in transition like he’s been for much of his career. Even when he wasn’t finding the back of the net, part of what made Meier so valuable was his ability to drive play, namely with his ability to transition the puck up ice, particularly on zone entries with possession. This season, that skill has waned a bit (which I blame Sheldon Keefe for in large part), so I would love to see Meier regain his form in this regard.
Dawson Mercer: Riding shotgun with Jack Hughes
Dawson Mercer just really seems to work well with Jack Hughes, but for whatever reason, Keefe refuses to put them together. According to Natural Stat Trick (stats do not include last night’s game), Mercer has spent about 77 minutes with Hughes at 5-on-5 all season long. Seven Devils have shared more ice time with Mercer than Hughes, including, inexplicably, the since-traded Ondrej Palat and Paul Cotter. When Mercer and Hughes are out there together, their numbers are stellar, with an Expected Goals For% in the mid-60’s. As we wind down the season, I would love to see more of Mercer with Hughes, ideally as a lead-in to a lot of time on the same line in 2026-27.
Cody Glass: Keep It Up
This admittedly feels like pretty simplistic, but it’s true. Cody Glass has been terrific for the Devils this season, one of only a handful of players on the team that has actually exceeded expectations. He’s struggled with a few injuries this season, but when he’s been on the ice, he’s been a good third-line center, which is something this team has sorely lacked for a while now. I don’t expect him to score goals at the rate he has this season in 2026-27, but if Glass can finish the season strong, hopefully that’s a sign that he’ll carry it over into next season and give the Devils some stability at 3C.
Connor Brown: Figure out if he works with Jack Hughes
Much like Mercer, I guess I also want to see Connor Brown play with Hughes more too. Why? Because apparently Hughes specifically requested to play with Brown. He explained his rationale in this clip here. So if the man himself is asking to play with Brown, who am I to question it? The numbers for this combo are mixed, with good 5-on-5 Corsi For% and Scoring Chances For% numbers, but mediocre to bad High Danger Corsi For% and Expected Goals For% marks. But I suppose it’s worth a shot if Hughes thinks it’s a good idea.
Arseny Gritsyuk: Getting him signed to an extension
Much like Hischier, I really want to see Arseny Gritsyuk sign a long-term extension ASAP. The difference is that while Hischier still has a year left on his deal, Gritsyuk will be an RFA at the end of the season. Gritsyuk has come over from Russia and exceeded all expectations. His shot has come as advertised, and his skating, playmaking, and overall hockey IQ has come better than advertised. Gritsyuk appears to be one of the solutions moving forward, not one of the issues, so I really need to see him signed long term.
Lenni Hameenaho: Continued Growth
Sometimes the obvious answer is the best one. Hameenaho made his NHL debut this season, looked incredible in his first couple of weeks in the league, and has since come back down to Earth. But not to the point where I would say he’s been outright struggling, just not thriving as he once did. Still, he’s shown a ton of promise, particularly on the defensive side of the puck. I have him one tier below Gritsyuk at this point, but I think if Hameenaho can finish the season strong, that would go a long way toward establishing him as a solid contributor for next season.
Nick Bjugstad: Look the part
By which I mean, just look like a competent fourth-line center. Bjugstad is signed for another season after this one, so assuming he doesn’t get shipped out this offseason, he will most likely start 2026-27 as the Devils’ 4C. He is obviously limited as a player, but I think he’s looked decent in his role with New Jersey so far. More of the same would give the Devils some much-needed depth down the middle.
Luke Hughes: Drive play
Since coming back from his injury, Luke Hughes has looked good. We all know the deal by now: Hughes has all the physical tools you could want in a player, but has struggled to put it all together into a total package. Perhaps his injury, as well as the Olympic break, was the mental reset he needed to come back even stronger. If he can finish up the season by driving play and impacting the game the way his tools make us believe he can, that would arguably be the single most important development for the New Jersey Devils’ future.
Simon Nemec: Give him all the ice time
Simon Nemec is a weird player in that the more responsibility and ice time you give him, the better he seems to play. You’d figure the cushier the deployment, the better his impact would be, but not so with Nemec. Down the stretch of the season, I say the Devils should just cut Nemec loose and see what he can do with top pair minutes. Determining whether he can be a big part of the answer going forward or if he would be better off as a trade chip will be immensely important heading into the summer.
Dougie Hamilton: Rack up points
I really hate to say it because I love Hamilton, and the offense he generates from the blue line would be severely missed if he departs, but I do think it’s time to move on. He’s performed quite well since he was healthy scratched earlier in the season when Tom Fitzgerald had his name out there. I would love to see him continue to perform quite well, rack up the points, and boost his trade value for a potential summer blockbuster. Once his signing bonus is paid out on July 1, that should make him even easier to move too. There’s still his 10-team trade list to navigate, but with a new general manager in place (hopefully!) that isn’t a complete coward like Fitzgerald is, clearing Hamilton’s $9m cap hit should be doable.
Brett Pesce: Get Healthy
Brett Pesce will always be a player who deals with a bunch of nagging injuries just based on the way he plays. This season, he has suffered some bigger injuries though, as he missed a bunch of time in the fall, and now he’s out again. Last offseason, he got surgery to help deal with an injury which prevented him starting the season on time. It’s arguable how much that impacted his 2024-25, but even if the negative effects were minimal, it would be less than ideal for him to go two straight offseasons that need to be spent recovering instead of training. Pesce is an important piece of this blue line, even if he’s not a prolific offensive-defenseman. Him entering 2026-27 as strong as possible would help this team a lot.
Jonas Siegenthaler, Johnny Kovacevic, and Brenden Dillon: Boost their trade value
New Jersey needs a complete revamping of their blue line, as they simply have far too many defensemen who contribute absolutely zero offense. Jonas Siegenthaler, Johnny Kovacevic, and Brenden Dillon are three of the main culprits here. If they can play well down the stretch and create a market for their services over the summer, that would be the best thing for the Devils’ hopes of putting together a defense corps capable of moving pucks and racking up points. Siegenthaler’s 10-team no-trade list isn’t too onerous, but Kovacevic’s mind-blowing full NMC is. And considering he’s already stated his desire is to remain in New Jersey (which I do not fault him for at all), he probably won’t be getting moved. Dillon also has a full NMC this season, but that shifts to a 10-team no-trade list this summer as well.
Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen: …Play well?
As much as I would want to move on from Markstrom, he’s not going anywhere. There are plenty of bad GM’s out there, but I don’t think any of them would be stupid enough to trade for a bad goalie that Fitzgerald inexplicably signed to an extension earlier this season. Meanwhile Allen has been good and is signed for a bunch more years anyway, so I suppose what I want to see most out of this tandem is to play well down the stretch and give me a sliver of hope that they (mostly Markstrom) can have a good 2026-27.
Your Take
Now that you’ve seen my wishlist, what would yours be? Aside from the obvious core players, what Devils do you think are the most important heading into 2026-27? What do you agree or disagree with from the list above? As always, thanks for reading!
