As the 2025-26 season draws towards a disappointing end, the New Jersey Devils enter a summer where they will have a number of players with one year remaining on multi-year deals. This means they will be eligible to sign an extension as soon as the beginning of free agency on July 1. Today, we look at the players who are available to sign those extensions, and whether or not the Devils should be extending the offer to them. Of note, this article does not discuss anyone who is a restricted free agent
this coming summer (Paul Cotter, Arseny Gritsyuk and Simon Nemec) as they are all still under team control.
Each player will be ranked as Absolutely the team will offer them a contract, Probably offered one by the Devils, Probably Not offered one by the Devils, or No Way the team should be trying to extend the player.
The Extendables
Nico Hischier – Absolutely
If the Devils don’t offer their captain a new contract this summer, I have even more concerns about the current management group than I already do. While Hischier is having a bit of a down year, who on the Devils isn’t? Hischier is still one of the most valuable Devils and is a useful player in all situations. Additionally, a lot of pundits and fans are already worried about the Devils’ center depth; could you imagine how much worse it would be without Nico? Find his price point, offer him seven years at that number, and get this done this summer to decrease every fan’s anxiety level.
Stefan Noesen – No Way
I was a big fan of the Noesen signing when it was announced last summer and Noesen’s return to New Jersey was a success with him establishing new career highs of 22 goals and 41 points. This season has been marred by injury, both before the season started and during it as well. With a steep decline of only seven points in 38 games, I think the Devils wait an see if Noesen can bounce back both in terms of health and play next season before offering him a new deal. If he doesn’t, they can cut him loose more easily.
Cody Glass – Probably
Glass has been one of the few Devils where there’s little to no complaining about his play this season. Usually responsible on the ice, Glass has also contributed a career high 15 goals in 58 appearances so far this season all while being mostly a third line center. The one knock against him is probably his injury history, but when he’s available, Glass is playing excellent hockey. With how thin the center market was last summer, the fact again that the Devils’ center depth isn’t fantastic and that Glass is still young, I would rather the Devils just offer him a contract extension this summer rather than waiting until next when he could hit unrestricted free agency.
Max Tsyplakov – No Way
Easy choice and easy justification here. Tsyplakov has contributed very little in his time as a Devil. Maybe he gets better acclimated and turns it around next season, leading to an offer down the line, but he’s not worth extending this summer. Honestly, I think there’s a better chance of a mutual contract termination than of an extension.
Nick Bjugstad – No Way
Bjugstad I could see sticking around as a big body in the Bottom Six, but I don’t see the Devils offering him an extension this summer. Much like Tsyplakov, there’s too small of a sample size here for the team to have any incentive to offer an extension beyond next season to Bjugstad. I do think he brings more in the sense of size and physicality, but with Bjugstad also having a lot of NHL miles on him, I don’t see the Devils committing beyond what they’ve already got with next season.
Brenden Dillon – Probably Not
I’ll be honest in saying that I wouldn’t be upset if Brenden Dillon was offered a one or two year extension by Devils’ management. He’s still decent enough defensively and is always standing up for teammates if he’s on the ice when something goes down. At the same time, he brings nothing offensively and does take some absolutely dumb penalties. The main thing to consider here is will there be another left handed defender such as Anton Silayev that the Devils feel they need to work in? If the team thinks he (or another lefty in the system) will be ready in two seasons even for sheltered minutes, then Dillon’s spot is the easiest to move that player into with his contract ending next summer.
Dawson Mercer – Probably
Mercer is the one player I hesitated to put on this list, as he technically has one more season as a restricted free agent where the Devils organization have control. There is a percentage of the fan base that is frustrated that he hasn’t progressed, and, if anything, has regressed offensively from his first couple of seasons, and I can understand the concern as Mercer is consistently featured in the Top Six. With the season of control, I see the Devils either offering him a new deal this summer or next; one way or another, the team isn’t going to let him walk for nothing. Absolute worst case scenario is they decide to trade Mercer this summer or next; I do think he’s worth keeping for his utility, the team just needs to get some other players to push Mercer a little further down the lineup.
Your Take
What are your thoughts on the players that the Devils have available for contract extensions this summer? Do you think Hischier is the only sure fire one to be offered a deal? Do you want to see new deals extended to Glass and Mercer as I do? Is there a chance Brenden Dillon is offered more years in red and black? Is your opinion different for anyone in the No Way tier? Leave any and all comments down below and thanks as always for reading!
