The New Jersey Devils 2026-27 roster is mostly set.
Yes, players have just started to report and media day just came around yesterday, but let’s face facts. With the way the New Jersey Devils roster is currently structured, training camp is a mere warm-up for the preseason which is warming the team up for the regular season. While that might sound exactly like what the definitions of those things should be, training camp in thew NHL has had its surprises in the past. Some young players have excelled
to the point of making the team out of nowhere, while players that would be expected on the roster have shown themselves to not be ready for NHL action.
The Devils made enough adjustments in the offseason to fill out their forward and defense group, leaving very little room for anyone to come out of obscurity and make their way onto the opening night squad. If you’re still not sold on the idea, take a look at the Devils page on Puckpedia. Oh sure, maybe there’s one fourth line/press box guy that’s currently listed at the NHL level who will be swapped with one currently listed at the AHL level. Maybe Vladislav Kolyachonok is the 7th defender rather than Declan Chisholm when the opening night roster is announced. Perhaps the Devils choose to carry three goalies and have one less forward on the roster, at least at the start of the season. While there’s a few small details that are still to be ironed out, there’s no room for any major surprises.
That means unfortunately for anyone wanting Anton Silaev on the opening night roster, (barring a slew of injuries in preseason games) it’s going to have to wait until at least 2027-28. The players who just appeared at the team’s rookie camp/matchup against the Islanders? Don’t expect to see any of them cracking the lineup either. Players like David Rittich and Amadeus Lombardi (who were alluded to earlier with the “press box guy” label) were already being penciled into the Devils’ roster as they wouldn’t have signed/traded for guys who need to be placed on waivers if they did not intend to play them, although in Rittich’s case, third goalies do sometimes get signed and placed on waivers for depth purposes.
Training camp this year will be about training for these Devils. It will serve as an introduction to some of the younger players through practices and maybe the first or even first two preseason games. Beyond that, with a shorter, four game preseason, the team will be looking to just get all of the new pieces to mesh and figure out who is going to play with who and where on the depth chart. Between signing Anthony Mantha in free agency, and bringing Evan Rodrigues in and Jesper Boqvist back from Florida while also acquiring Luke Evangelista from Nashville. That’s four new forwards at a minimum; with a shorter preparation period, the Devils probably won’t be looking to work in too many other new parts.
Training camp and the preseason will be coming at us quickly, with the first game already slated for this coming Sunday. For the Devils, however, there won’t be much to figure out before the regular season starts. A couple minor things for sure, but the larger parts are already sorted; this preseason, roster formation is a mere formality.
What are your thoughts about the Devils’ training camp; do you feel there’s room for a roster surprise, or do you agree there’s just no space for it this season? Is there anyone you want to see make a strong showing even if it doesn’t result in an NHL spot? If there’s injuries, who do you think could step up? Leave any and all comments below and thanks as always for reading!
