Building a Contender

Devils Opt Out of Several RFA Extensions

The New Jersey Devils had hopes to repeat their championship win from a year ago, but the hockey gods didn't see fit to reward them for their effort.  A monster team on Long Island put the Devils to bed before losing to the Eastern Conference Champion Flyers, who ultimately lost to the richest franchise in DCHL history - the Chicago Blackhawks.

Congrats to the Hawks for another historic season and congrats to the Flyers for making it all the way for the 2nd time in franchise history.  It was a well-fought final and an amazing Stanley Cup Playoff overall.  

Now let's set our sights on the future.  The Devils have quite the offseason ahead of them as they look to retool and contend again.  That will be challenging for so many reasons.  Teams in the Metro continue to improve, like the Rangers who appear to be getting closer to contention.  The Islanders and Flyers will continue to be among the best teams in the DCHL and remain the biggest roadblocks for another New Jersey championship.

Credit to the Atlantic teams who are no longer the pushover division that they once were.  Montreal and Buffalo remain monsters and teams like Ottawa and Tampa are knocking on the door of championship runs themselves.  This is a conference without mercy and truly only the best teams can compete.

The Devils still have a window of contention, but tweaks are needed.  Let's have a look at the departing class for 2026.

UFA Out:

• Sean Couturier
• Zach Bogosian
• Brock McGinn
• Dakota Joshua
• Petr Mrazek

RFA Out:

• Jesper Boqvist
• Kailer Yamamoto
• Alexander Holtz
• Nathan Bastian

Let's call it what it is.  New Jersey is going to lose 5 pro players to free agency right off the jump.  This is a significant impact to team makeup and strategy that will have to be addressed via trade or free agency. 

• Couturier has been a top 6 regular for two seasons since being acquired from the Flyers.  He was on the top line when the Devils won the Cup with 2-time Cup winner Matt Duchene.  He spent pretty much all of last season centering the 2nd line with Zacha and O'Reilly.  Couts might have lost a step or two over the years, but he was a major contributor for the Devils the last 2 years. 
• Mrazek was a very solid backup to Sorokin who earned his ice time.  He put up 39 wins over the two seasons with a 90% or better save percentage.  
• Bogosian, Joshua, and McGinn were all 1-year Devils who competed admirably as role players.  Their contributions will need to be replaced.

The Devils opted not to extend four significant RFAs as well.  All four have played for the pro team at one time or another, but each of them have fallen from grace.  It will be interesting to see who signs them as they are all fringe DCHL players.  I expect at least one of them to play in the DCHL again this season.

So, how will the Devils retool?  It starts with a couple deals that have created waves in DCHL media outlets, including Two Bald Guys.

Trades:

• To New Jersey:  Nikolaj Ehlers  >>> To Seattle:  Seattle 2nd round pick 2027 and $10,000,000
• To New Jersey:  Connor Zary    >>> To Boston:  New Jersey 2nd round pick 2027

The Ehlers trade was made to replace Couturier, whose top 6 minutes were going to be a painful loss for the franchise.  Ehlers comes with a 3-year term and no shortage of offensive talent.  Where he might no be the best defensive forward in the league, he packs a scoring a playmaking touch that should translate well in the Devils offensve scheme.  Some might say he is a clear upgrade on the guy he is replacing, but Couturier and Ehlers are completely different types of players.  Ehlers comes in with a recent 40ish point performance as a Kraken top forward and this reporter is projecting that he will finish the season somewhere around 60-70 points with New Jersey.  

Connor Zary is a project forward with high potential, but who just hasn't seen his talent level translate well in the big league yet.  He has been bounced around the league a bit in his eary career and you just can't really expect so much uncertainty to translate into high performance at this level.  The Devils intend to give Zary a long-term home and every chance to prove himself.  Some analysts have this trade as a clear overpay for the Bruins, while others see it exactly the opposite way and think the Devils overpaid.  I submitt to you that maybe both teams got what they wanted/needed at a price they could afford.  We'll revisit this in a year and see what people think then.  

Let's look at a mock lineup for the Devils and see if we can figure out the needs for this team as we get closer to the draft.

McCann  Hischier  Marchand

Ehlers  O'Reilly  Kuzmenko

McMichael  Zacha  Zary

Cole  McCarron  Glass*

Bahl  McAvoy

Hague  Pionk

Dunn  TBD*

Sorokin

TBD*

Offensive Needs:  The Devils would benefit from acquiring another defensive forward in the mold of a Jordan Staal or ideally reuniting with Sean Couturier.  Look for them to be in the discussion for both these players, but with only so much cap space, you have to imagine that they will spend that space on a backup goalie and a 6th defenseman.

Defensive Needs:    The Devils need to acquire a 6th defenseman.  I'm told they have their eyes on two former Devils from the free agent pool and that they will be aggressive in their hunt to getting one of them.  Connor Murphy stands out to me as the guy.  He has several years experience in the Devils system with Lindy Ruff and was a fan favorite during his time in NJ.   I imagine a reunion here would be amazing for the team and the fans.

Goaltending Needs: A backup goaltender is going to be the top priority for this organization going forward.  It has to be.  The DCHL is a two-goalie league these days and the Devils have a history of trading draft picks to acquire their backups.  Could a reunion with Mrazek happen?  Maybe, but you have to think the Devils will have deeper look at the market and be involved in discussions with several of the decent options out there.

There is work to be done, folks, but the Devils definitely look like their roster is taking shape already.  With relatively minor holes to plug, we can get a good idea of what their season will look like from the projected roster above.  I suspect the Devils will be a contender again this coming season.  The pieces are there.  The talent is undeniable.  The core team remains together and this reporter hope it translates to some real chemistry.  

Let's go Devils!