Forget the Ondrej Palat contract. I can think of no bigger conundrum that the New Jersey Devils face other than Dougie Hamilton’s deal.
Hamilton perhaps had his worst game of the season against the Washington Capitals. It’s just an added layer to his 20-point pace, which is a huge disappointment in a season where the Devils were supposed to take the next step towards greatness. For more on Hamilton’s woes, check out last night’s 10 observations for that, and more, on Saturday night.
By the way, the holiday roster freeze is officially lifted as of midnight this morning.
Elsewhere, the Toronto Blue Jays did NOT have to cook a fan, but they sure did, plus more below.
Let’s do that hockey.
Devils Trade Rumors & News
New Jersey Hockey Now: Coming out of the holiday break, the Devils are on the hot seat. This time last season was when things began to unravel for them. However, could they flip the script this season? They have these five questions to answer if they’re going to reverse their fortunes.
More NJHN: Last night’s loss to the Washington Capitals was another brutal one. You shouldn’t score three goals and lose. More inside on how it happened.
Even More: As for the analysis, here are 10 observations from last night’s loss, including a brutal Jack Hughes mistake, Dougie Hamilton’s awful defending, a concerning trend, and more.
Devils Rink Report: In case you missed it, former NHL AGM, Steve Werier, joined the show to shed some light on a general manager’s job, and what Tom Fitzgerald is up as he tries to improve the Devils 👇🏼
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The Athletic ($): More and more, the chatter about the Devils and Ryan O’Reilly keeps popping up. Here’s the latest.
NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now
I just thought this was hilarious. The Toronto Blue Jays trolled a fan on X who still has their profile picture as Quinn Hughes in a Vancouver Canucks jersey. And, well…
Quinn Hughes plays for the Minnesota Wild now btw
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) December 27, 2025
TSN: The Tampa Bay Lightning found another diamond in the rough. J.J. Moser is having an excellent season with the Bolts, and he’s been rewarded with a new eight-year extension.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Pittsburgh Penguins have regressed a bit to the expectation, but they did so well for so long that now they feel like they need to give Sidney Crosby another postseason run. Here’s what THEY think they need to change, as told by Dan Kingerski.
Toronto Hockey Now: After the Toronto Maple Leafs fired Marc Savard, they debuted some major new looks the very next game. More inside on Toronto’s big changes.
James is the New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on Sportsnaut and the PHWAs New … More about James Nichols