The New Jersey Devils come in at No. 19 on TheHockeyNews.com's NHL off-season ranking. The Devils have a new GM and a new No. 1 goalie, but are they a Stanley Cup playoff lock?
The New Jersey Devils have been fortunate to play in the weak Metropolitan Division. But even then, the Devils have missed the Stanley Cup playoffs twice in the past three seasons and finished seventh in the Metro in both those instances of missing the post-season. So it’s been a struggle for New Jersey to make the playoffs, let alone be a Cup front-runner.
While the Devils didn’t have the worst NHL off-season this summer, New Jersey sits 19th in TheHockeyNews.com’s off-season rankings.
This ranking's criteria include every move from each team’s off-season – arrivals, departures, hirings, promotions and contract extensions. The Devils come in near the middle of the pack with moves that could pan out – or that could lead to failure in 2026-27.
Let’s see what New Jersey GM and former Florida Panthers executive Sunny Mehta has done since taking the job, and what to expect from the Devils next season.
Arrivals:
Sunny Mehta (GM), David Rittich (G), Anthony Mantha (LW), Evan Rodrigues (RW), Jesper Boqvist (LW)
The biggest move in New Jersey was the hiring of Mehta, who was an instrumental part of the Panthers’ championship seasons. Mehta’s data-driven approach might differ slightly from his predecessor, Tom Fitzgerald, but their goal is essentially the same – make New Jersey a perennial playoff team.
With his moves, Mehta changed things up with a major alteration in goal – signing veteran Rittich from the New York Islanders – then adding depth to New Jersey’s stockpile of wingers with Mantha, Rodrigues and Boqvist.
But the addition of those three forwards won’t propel the Devils into a playoff spot. They’re fringe contributors, and current coach Sheldon Keefe must assimilate them into the group while still leaving it to Jack and Luke Hughes, Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt to be the consistent difference-makers for the organization.
New Jersey had the NHL’s sixth-worst offense this past season at an average of 2.76 goals per game, and the Devils had the 18th-best defense at 3.09 goals-against per game. So, this New Jersey team needed help in all areas of the ice, and they didn’t get that degree of help from Mehta this summer.
Departures:
Simon Nemec (D), Jacob Markstrom (G), Maxim Tsyplakov (LW), Declan Chisholm (D), Angus Crookshank (LW)
Bidding farewell to Markstrom – a veteran who posted a .900 save percentage and a 2.50 goals-against average in his first season with the Devils in 2024-25 – feels like a curious move for Mehta.
When a team like the Panthers wants your goalie – as Florida did with Markstrom – you should be extremely hesitant to send that goalie packing. But unless there’s a better solution in net coming down the road, New Jersey’s tandem of Jake Allen and Rittich, and Nico Daws available, hardly feels imposing.
But the more consequential move could prove to be the trading of Nemec to the Calgary Flames. Nemec got lost in the shuffle in New Jersey, but he could still be a good blueliner who will be missed by his former team.
And although Mehta landed a solid trade package for Nemec – two first-round draft picks among other assets – the bottom line is that the Devils won’t be as dangerous next season without the 22-year-old defenseman.
Mehta has $3.85 million in salary cap space to utilize, and if he makes additions by or before training camp, it'll be noticed. But the amount of talent that’s gone out the door in New Jersey is considerable, and the Devils need to spend the rest of the road ahead finding replacements for what’s been lost in the first year of Mehta's tenure so far.
The Bottom Line:
Here’s the good news and bad news for the Devils. In the middling Metro Division, there’s a decent possibility any team that missed the playoffs this past season will bounce back to be a playoff team in 2026-27. But that means there’s also a decent possibility New Jersey will swing and miss yet again next year.
It wouldn't be ideal for the Devils if they just missed the playoffs, or made the playoffs and got demolished in the first round. But at least a bottom-five finish would lead to New Jersey getting a foundational piece in the 2027 draft.
The more we look at the Devils’ core, the more we suspect fundamental change could be coming this time next year if there isn’t a playoff appearance and a decent accounting of themselves in the first round and beyond next spring.
In the Fitzgerald era, the Devils were trying to transition from a mediocre team to a legitimate Cup contender, but they really never got there.
Now, they’re transitioning from a non-playoff team to a playoff team, and that’s a genuine step back. It’s entirely possible New Jersey crumbles in 2026-27 and forces Devils management to make sweeping changes.
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