Expectations were high heading into the 2025–26 season for the New Jersey Devils. However, the team missed the playoffs with a 42-37-3 record.
Following the end of the season, players spoke about the expectations heading into the season and graded how the team performed.
Captain Nico Hischier kicked off the conversation during the locker cleanout on Wednesday. He shared his perspective on the expectations with NJD.tv.
“The expectations have been high for us (for) a few years, which is good,” Hischier said. “That's what you want. And obviously, when you're not getting there, it sucks. And we didn't deserve it. Like I said, we didn't play consistent enough the whole year.”
The team missed the playoffs by 10 points. They had a strong eight-game win streak to start the season, but struggled in the middle of the season.
Reflecting on the performance, Jesper Bratt said he would grade the team’s season.
“It's just for us to find a way that when we don't have our A game, how do we win with our B game and not fall down in a C and D kind of category,” Bratt said. “It's got to be a consistent base where we know that we put up a foundation of defensive play that we know that our skill offensively is going to lead us to the win, but that a defensive game is going to be our mindset to win. I think that we were just a little bit too up and down, and obviously injuries and other stuff were part of that, and you can't really control injuries, unfortunately, but you can control how you promote or how you play every game in terms of the details.”
He continued, sharing the expectations for the team's performance going forward.
“B level should be the bare minimum,” Hischier said. “It's not like getting to (B level). I think that's the bare minimum, and that's got to be a consistent enough game that keeps us in games or gives us a chance to win hockey games. And then if we have that as the standard, whenever we play better, we have more chances to win. But the B level is already a high standard.”
Now, the Devils have six months until the 2026-27 season kicks off.
In preparation, the organization has already announced the hiring of a new general manager, Sunny Mehta.
Hischier shared a final offseason message.
“But the expectation will be the same as this year, next year. I think even higher, to be honest, because nobody in here wants to have a year like (this) again. We want to come back in those playoffs, and I think that's always a main goal for a team to have, because what you've seen in the past, too, if you just make the playoffs, then anything is possible.”
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